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Last evening was such a sweet time with my sisters in Christ! I am blessed beyond words to tell you of the sacred love we share! Definitely the Lord's doing. We marveled last evening at how our group came to be, of all the intricate connections within us that we had no clue until we gathered. The Lord works, in spite of us, doesn't He? And it is good! I can so often see those things that come to us, whether pleasurable or not so much, come because He allowed those things for our good and His glory.
While it may be hard to believe that all things can be used for our good and His glory, it is true, nonetheless. I do know that while we are walking through dark days, we, sooner or later, may begin to question, "Lord, where is the goodness in this?" It's OK -- it's always OK to question God. Saints of old did, too, and His shoulders are broad. God simply delights in us when we bring all of our hurts to Him. He LOVES to answer the heartfelt cries of His own.
Sometimes, we grow weary and can't understand and we are tempted to say, "When, Lord, when is enough?" Even in those times of desperation and deep sadness, He understands. For many of us, grief has become the new normal. Daily, another loses their life to the battle of the COVID virus. We are deeply wounded and can't even begin to make sense of any good reason for this. Yet, it continues. For our good and His glory?
Listen to me, friend: God's ways are so much higher than our ways. He sees the "big picture." and knows all about our suffering. He always knew, even before one of our days came to be. I, too, recently said, "Lord, when is enough enough?" Not in anger, but in deep grief for the suffering around me. I wanted to know and understand it all. And then I remembered, for our good and His glory.
We, as a nation, seem to be losing our way. We need God's saving grace to heal us. Yes, we desperately want this virus to end, as well as a longing to have our lives return to "normal." What is that, anyway? Do we even know? Have we forgotten what is important? We once were a nation known to have been founded on freedom of religion. Those who first came here, came to be able to worship God freely, without control from the church or the government. Over time, I believe we began to take for granted those freedoms. It seems now that we've become cold and hardened to the sacred freedoms we once embraced. So many never even realized the blessedness of freedom to worship our God and it appears that time is running out to do so. For our good and His glory?
Yes, the Lord is still on His throne. He still extends grace and pardon for our sins through the blood of Jesus! His hands of mercy are extended to us. I believe that He is using this virus for our good and His glory, even through so many losses. As a matter of fact, our pain is causing many to finally reach for God. That would be for their good and His glory!
I am not dismissing the pain so many of us are experiencing through this past year. To our human minds, it makes absolutely no sense, all this loss of life. For many families, their loved one passed in just a few days or even hours from becoming ill. That doesn't make sense to our aching hearts. I can't begin to understand all that, but this much I do know: the Lord sees it all. He knows how our hearts are so broken. Yes, He cares about our suffering, and yes, He offers comfort to help us through it. Those who are suffering just know this to be true, as we reach for more of Him to help us in our times of need. We do all we can to offer solace to our loved ones, yet, we finally know "Our help comes from the Lord, maker of Heaven and earth." (Psalm 121:1)
It helps us to realize that if, indeed, we are suffering, that this all passed through the hands of our heavenly Father. He can be trusted. After all, He gives us the very air we breathe. If He can be trusted to set the moon and stars in place, and the world in motion, and hold it all together, then we can trust Him with all that hurts. The fact that you are here and able to read this today, ought to make you realize that life is a gift. If the Lord withheld all other blessings, life, itself would be enough. The grace of God.
Maybe, in our spiritual decline, we fail to recognize these things. If not for the grace of God, we wouldn't be here in the first place. I know many are coming to know this, too -- just maybe the Lord is calling out to us to come to Him, to repent of our wandering, and to be healed. How much more do we need to bring about a revival in our land? Only God knows those things. Again, for our good and His glory.
So then, shouldn't we be so focused on living out our days for the good of others and the glory of God? Who among us has family members who aren't walking with the Lord? Who has a friend who never accepted Jesus as Savior? Maybe a neighbor who is known to be living in gross sin? Isn't this the perfect time to reach out, while hearts are hurting and people are grasping for help and for answers? I believe so. First and foremost, purify your own heart so that those who are searching will trust that you are someone who can help them. Be willing to stand in the gap in prayer for others. Make the effort to love the unlovable and the forgotten. Do your part in bringing others to the Lord. Who knows but that God would answer those cries coming from deep within our souls, and bring revival to this land? But nothing happens until somebody makes the first move, right? Maybe if you do, it will prompt someone else to do the same. Maybe if they do their part in reaching out to the broken, another will follow. Maybe, all across this great land we've been blessed with by the Maker of heaven and earth, just maybe a chain reaction will occur. And even though understanding for all the pain and suffering hasn't come yet, we'll be able to see and say, "It was all for our good, and His glory!"
Maybe your mindset has been one of despair and hopelessness. All I know to do is offer you my Jesus. He is enough. Won't you place all of your burdens into His very capable hands and trust Him to carry you until the darkness passes? Please don't even give yourself time to doubt Him, just do it and you, too, will begin to see that all that comes to pass in this life can be used for our good and His glory. Then, once you know that you've placed your trust into His hands, I challenge you to search for that support group who will hold you accountable to that decision. He, and only He makes all things new! Find your comfort in the arms of Jesus today! For your good and His glory! Amen!
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Debby Renninger is a freelance writer and inspirational speaker. She holds a Bible study in her home in McVeytown, where seeking women are always welcome. She may be reached at (717) 250-7086 for speaking engagements.