Wounded
people, in an imperfect world, allow the negative consequences of horrific
crimes, which crush their innocence, to shroud them with anger and depression,
and at times, to take their life.
Wondering
how a loving God can allow such atrocities and insults to happen to good people
(1 John 4;8; Job 1:6-12), we rail against Him, doubt His power, and accuse Him
of impotence and vengefulness.
We
take these occurrences to mean that God is not on our side, and that He does
not care (1 Peter 5:7); when all along, He is just as grieved as we are over
the consequences of a sin-cursed world (Jeremiah 8:21-22).
From
the beginning, God's plan is for us to live with Him in Paradise. Adam and Eve
believed Satan's lies and chose to do things their own way. They lost Paradise
for us for a time.
All
of humanity now reaps the consequences of the first couple's choices (Romans
5:12). Yet, God provided a way of salvation through Jesus Christ. Jesus will
restore Paradise to authentic Believers for all of eternity (Revelation 21
& 22).
All
He asks is for any willing person to humble his/herself and to believe in Jesus'
atoning work of Calvary's cross on our behalf (Romans 6:23). He paid our
sin-debt for us, and He cares about every aspect of our life (Galatians
3:13-15).
As
we trust in God's goodness, this changes our perspective on our circumstances.
We notice that He always plants a seed for a miracle in every trial that we
experience. We have no doubt that He will bless us in spite of the events in
this world (Job 42:11).
We
mature spiritually as we maintain our faith in God's faithfulness, as well as
His love for us. As we continually worship in His presence in our spirit, our
love relationship and unity with Him multiplies (Galatians 2:20).
Prayer:
Father
God, thank You for forgiving our doubt and helping us to believe in Your
process for our life (Mark 9:24). Circumstances may not be what we hope for or
want, but You work them out so that they are even better than we could have imagined
or produced in our human efforts. Thank You for sustaining us through these
trying times by Your goodness and grace.
We
long to learn to rejoice in our tribulation (Job 1:21), and to trust in Your
ways and purposes, which are so much higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). Remind
us to cast all of our cares on You, because You certainly care about every
aspect of our life (1 Peter 5:7-9). You are our all sufficiency and our provider
through every trial (2 Corinthians 3:5, 12:9). We love You and thank You for
Your everlasting love for us (Romans 8:35-39).
Thought
for the Day:
Filled
with God's Spirit, Christ in us brings good news to the poor, binds up the
brokenhearted, proclaims liberty to the captives and opens doors for those of
us who are in bondage and wounded from events in our past and/or our current
life.
-
Isaiah 61:1; Psalm 30:2; Jeremiah 30:17; 1 Peter 5:10
