Submitted by Pastor Julie Sanders, Tarkio and Westboro United Methodist Churches
Life is not always fair. Sometimes, things just don’t go the way we planned; the road of life is filled with twist and turns. Things happen, things that we could have never expected. We can do everything right, we can play by all the rules and still the road of life can be unpredictable. Yet, in the midst of all the unpredictability, God remains constant. Maybe we can’t see this in the middle of a difficult time, but looking back we are able to see that the bad experiences of life do not reflect God’s goodness. Instead, God’s goodness is seen because He never leaves our side; God is with us in the most difficult moments. John Wesley’s last words were, “Best of all, God is with us.”
In times of difficulty, we can take comfort knowing that God’s presence is steadfast. But if we are honest, we don’t always know this. It’s only natural to wonder, “If God cared why would he allow this to happen?” Many of us know that people of faith are not promised a life free from trials and tribulations. But still, when something happens to us, emotionally, we feel as if we’ve been betrayed. If we have been faithful to God, we expect Him to be faithful to us by keeping us from harm’s way. But God doesn’t promise us a perfect, unharmed life. He promises us that he is making all things new; He is recreating the world. And one day, there will be no more pain, sickness or death. He promises as that while this “new kingdom” is being ushered in, we can trust in his strength. Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
God promises to be our strength so when we pull away from God, we lose our strength. It’s like we find ourselves drowning, unsure where to come up for air. Someone once said, “A person who abandons his or her faith in God during times of difficulty is like a person who would jump off the boat, in the middle of the ocean, without any life boat all because the boat was in the middle of a storm.” Our greatest chance of survival is in the captain – even during the storms – knowing that if the time came the captain would direct them to the life boat. Continuing to trust in the goodness of God even during the storms of life gives us the grace and strength to face any situation.
One of the best things we can do in times of difficulty is to pray. Nothing connects us to God more than prayer. Prayer is talking with God, and taking a moment in silence to sense what God is saying to you. It’s the place where we allow God to speak into our hearts. Talking to God will strengthen us and reassure us when we are having moments of doubt. I know it’s not always our first response to pray. It’s easy to allow ourselves to be fooled into thinking we can handle things by ourselves but the truth is we were not created for that. Let me ask, when you find yourself anxious, hurt, discouraged or overwhelmed what is the first thing you do? Do you pray? Do you seek God’s presence? If we are honest, our natural response is to push through, act like we are good, or maybe occupy ourselves, and many other things. It’s much later, when our spirits are broken and we are feeling desperate, then we might consider talking to God. Just imagine if we went to God first.
Take a moment today, talk to God, tell him what’s going on in your heart and life, share your questions with God. Just as you and I feel the pain of our loved ones, God feels our pain. Just as we reach out in tenderness to those who need it most, God reaches out to us. In our times of pain, we must trust in God’s loving presence in our lives. Know that regardless of what you are facing, God is there and he wants you to talk to him about what’s happening in your life.
