In good times and bad God is on the throne. Who wouldn’t be ecstatic over the Lords’ many triumphs to sustain life and make miracles in this broken world? It’s amazing the sun comes up every morning, the hummingbird draws nectar in midair and the human body weathers all the heart desires to try and destroy it. God is gracious in so many ways. He truly does not want any to perish….without having the chance to know Him. (2 Peter 3:9) In my case I can look back on life and reflect with certainty on the many times the Lord preserved my life despite the stupid, foolhardy choices I made. There’s no escape clause from suffering the consequences of those choices. In my case being a former smoker I can attest to paying the price for abusing my body. The Lord may allow one to be immediately healed from a serious illness, but it’s essential to remember He does it for His glory, for His purpose. This is a hard pill to swallow for sure, that we can’t somehow claim credit, but a much better way to look at God especially in bad times.
God is sovereign. “Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.” (Psalm 100:3) The truth be told we try to make God into our image. We ask Him to prove Himself by meeting our demands, by treating Him like a genie, expecting Him to answer in the affirmative after we’ve prayed a certain way, practiced religion as expected or allocated money to what we think He cares about. The danger with making God in our image is when hard news hits we want to cut and run, maybe even curse God. Our true view of the Lord plays out in a crisis. Is that faith so well professed founded upon the rock of Christ Jesus or the opinions of well meaning men or women?
Jesus said, “whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24-25) To anyone facing a crisis, a watershed moment in life, I would say with complete empathy ‘delve deeper into your understanding of who God is.’ While asking God to show Himself strong in your life, beg Him to increase your faith; not for faith’s sake but for His glory so that others may see; “man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4) The Lord will not withhold revelation and understanding of His character from anyone truly seeking to know Him. We can then jump for joy anytime in pounding rain or warm sunshine and shout “Hallelujah Jesus” because He never changes; He is the same yesterday, today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)
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