Some days life can feel like a real kick in the pants with no wins in sight. Honestly, some months or even years can feel that way. We all go through seasons of life where it feels like Murphy’s Law has taken the wheel and is driving out of control. And if I’m not careful in those moments, one of my knee jerk reactions is to call on God and ask him exactly what on his good earth is he doing to me. But that’s just not a reflective response of what’s going on.
Our view of God’s goodness cannot be determined by how the world is treating us. Those are disconnected matters. Not disconnected from God’s ability to work with them, but disconnected in cause. God is not a capricious God with his finger over a disaster button, waiting to strike us down. Yes, there are times when our poor decisions are allowed to play out with their full consequences, but that’s not what I’m talking about here. What I’m saying is that those seasons when you are doing your best and still life is coming down on you is not God’s way of toying with you. He doesn’t do that. He is actively against the bad, horrible things that happen to us. It’s not what he had in mind when he created the world. It’s not what he wants for us.
God wants good things for us, but the reality of our life here in this sinful world is that bad things will still happen to us. And as believers, we can’t afford to miss the opportunity for good that lies in the depths of our hardships.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned through ups and downs through the years it’s this. People will pay attention to what you say about God when things are going well for you, but they’ll make decisions about him by what you say about him when everything’s going wrong for you.
That’s where the rubber meets the road. That’s where your faith matters. It’s easy to say God is good and that you trust him when everything is going your way. But saying those same things when it looks like you’re going to lose everything? That’s what makes people stop and wonder what it is you have. That’s where your faith burns the brightest.
As Christians, we are called to live differently and part of that means handling hardship differently. Where the world would tell us to scream and shout and maybe flip the bird skyward, we are called to stay calm, trust, and hold on tight to what actually matters in this life. We are called to react differently because we have hope for a very different outcome for our lives. So our ability to react from a place of living that out might just be our loudest testimony to what we believe.
So however unpleasant and heartbreaking your trials are remember this: This is not happening to you because your God doesn’t care about you and he can use even this for his purpose.
What’s hurting today might just be what brings someone to God tomorrow, and that’s certainly no bad thing.
Let’s find some joy,
A
Avalon Robinson Author 