Guest Article: "What the Bible tells us"
This is a guest article written by my good friend Brian which I entitled "What the Bible tells us." Hope it is meaningful!
"God, where are you?"
"God, if you are really there, then why have you put me through all of this?"
I have found myself asking these questions before. And yet when I find myself asking these questions it seems like things only get worse and worse, seemingly to confirm my thoughts that God doesn't care about me, no instead He chooses to let me suffer. And for a while, I believed this to be true. How could it not be so?
But God has three big promises for us; the first of these promises is repeated to us so many times. One of the most memorized and well known bible verses gives us this promise: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but will have eternal life" (John 3:16). This is repeated again when Jesus says to his disciples that "You will know the truth and the truth will make you free” (John 8:32).
Once we know God and we accept Jesus into our lives, we are no longer enslaved to be killed by sin. Instead we are promised that we will be free, we will live forever with God! No matter what happens in our lives here on earth, God is giving us a gift larger than all the birthday presents in the world added together. And the best part of it is, we already know what the gift is!
Ok, so yes that is nice, God promises me that I have something to look forward to, but that still doesn't answer my question about why God isn't here for me now, and why God puts me through all these difficult times.
This brings us to the second promise God has. God is there for us always. In Deuteronomy 31:8 we are told that "It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you: he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed." And so this second promise is that God will always be with us. He is not going to just throw us off a helicopter to parachute down into enemy territory. No, instead, He is going be right there with us! He is going to be strapped to us as we parachute into the gloomiest of places. So that is two promises God has given us now. First, that God promises us eternal life! Second, that He never leaves us.
But if God never leaves us, then why does he put me through all the bad things in life?
This brings us to the third promise: God has a plan for us. This plan is different and unique for each and every one of us. This plan may not be all smooth sailing, be we are comforted in James chapter one, verses 2-4 where we are told: "My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing."
You see, God is never going to put us through anything that we cannot make it through. God has a plan, a specific plan for each and every one of us. These trials and hardships we face will in the end make us stronger and prepare us for the rest of what God has planned for our lives here on earth.
This means that God has promised us, first, that He will always be with us, and never leave us. Secondly, that He has a plan for us and that this plan is made specifically just for us, not for anyone else, and that God is there for us through all the difficulties we face no matter how big or how small they may be. Finally, God has promised that we will have eternal life so "do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me [Jesus]. In my father's house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that there I am, there you may be also" (John 14:1-3).
-Brian
Hope you pulled something meaningful out of this- I know I did.
Your Witness in Christ,
Emily
2 comments
Thank you for this post, Brian. It\'s a good reminder. I\'ve often noticed, too, that what I perceive as a difficulty when looking at it \"up close\" often turns out to be ultimately for my good when seen from the perspective of later on. The God who is unchanging remains a Creator God capable of turning the \"bad stuff\" into something good.
very nice article. really helped me see that god will always pull me through the hard times