How easy is having faith, trusting, and believing when life is going well? What about when God seems absent, and everything is going wrong? One thing God never promises is that the Spirit-filled life will be easy and without problems. Jesus said in John 16:33 (NASB), “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” We are also told, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (NASB)
The hardest periods of life to trust God are when you do not understand why something is happening or why God did not answer your prayer the way you wanted. My husband and I experienced this many years ago when his workplace was not doing well financially. Employees could see that it was time to move on because it was only a matter of time before the company closed. We prayed for God to open doors, but things did not go as we thought they should. We thought he would get a different job and things would be fine. Surprisingly, the place he worked made him an offer to stay that was hard to pass up. As we prayed, God led him to stay, despite our concerns. It wasn’t until about a year later that God opened a door for a different job. He took that job and a few months later, the previous company closed. God had everything under control, we just needed to trust Him and His timing. Our family was blessed by his staying at the job longer and we were blessed when the door opened to change jobs. Had we not trusted in the Lord, we would have missed the blessings the Lord had for us.
What do we do when things happen that we do not understand, such as the death of a loved one? My mother passed away this past February after a short illness. She was in her seventies, had lived life, and was ready and wanting to go. My children and I, however, were not ready to see her go. Learning to live without her has been challenging. When you are raised by a single mother with no assistance from a father, the mother-daughter relationship is just different. Learning to cope with the absence of your ONLY parent hits hard. It was only through much time spent seeking God that I was able to hear the Holy Spirit answering my many questions. And this was not the only time questions like this have arisen. Over the years, I have had friends and other loved ones pass too soon. They were too young, and the loss made no sense to anyone. In those times I often asked, “Where was God?”
For a Biblical example of a difficult situation to understand, we can look to Genesis, where we read about Joseph, a man who lived out Proverbs 3:5-6. His brothers sold him into slavery. He was falsely accused of wrongdoing and thrown into prison. Yet, all through life’s hardships, he knew God was always with him. He did not view life through his human eyes but from God’s perspective. He trusted God even when he did not understand. At the end of the story, he ended up saving his family -the very ones who betrayed him- along with the entire nation of Egypt.
We will not always know WHY things happen the way they do. However, God does promise to never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). He promises to draw near to us when we draw near to Him (James 4:8). He promises He is always with us (Matthew 28:20). He tells us to call on Him in the day of trouble (Psalm 50:15). When life doesn’t make sense, trust God. When you don’t know why, trust Him. No matter what happens, Trust HIM.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (NASB)
