God is good all the time, right?
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
No temptation [trial] has overtaken you except something common to mankind; and God is faithful, so He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation [trial] will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it (I Corinthians 10:13).
Do you ever quote these verses to yourself in hard times? Does it ever leave you perplexed and wondering, How is this situation good? Or, This feels like more than I can handle?
For me, January 1, 2023 started off rough. Our family has been battling back-to-back-to-back sickness. I keep thinking this is the last one, and then we get hit again. Other family circumstances have been hard to navigate, compounded with sleepless nights. I won’t get into the details because that isn’t the point of this blog.
I know many of you can relate. We live in a broken world. To keep perspective and to pick myself up, I’ll try to focus on what is going well and how, At least I don’t have xyz. At least I haven’t lost xyz.”
But then I think, My problems are so small compared to others, why then am I struggling so much with this? I must be weak and have little faith. And the cycle of beating myself up and despair sets in.
Rewind to November 2019, when I hit a really low point. My lowest yet.
Well-meaning people would quote I Corinthians 10:13 to comfort me (see verse above). I was told that temptation and trials are interchangeable in the Greek in this verse.
Why then did I feel that this was more than I could handle? Why would a good God allow one of His children to be crushed like this? Their well-meaning comments were meant to comfort, but instead left me wrestling with the validity of this verse.
Then God brought this verse to mind: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30).
Aha! I thought. Not only did I find hope for my insomniac soul by the repetition of the word rest. But I also saw that this crushing weight I felt was in fact too much for me to handle! The weight was too much for me to bear…by design. God wants us to run to Him for help. He is there ready to put the yoke on us to lighten our load. We just need to cast our struggles onto Him (1 Peter 5:7) so we can stand again.
God wants to help! We are not alone.
That verse got me through the next few years. But now fast forward to 2023, and I’m still struggling with understanding the goodness of God in hard situations.
While driving home last week, I was blown away when I took the time to zoom out from my daily grind, sickness, and such. This life is just a blip. Compared to eternity, my short years on this earth are but a blink.
I started to think about heaven – no more sickness, no more drama, no more struggles and wrestling. The God of the universe has promised us an eternity of good. Wow! Forever! That sounds amazing! What a generous God we serve! What a GOOD God!
So, what does He want from us here on earth?
This is our time of refinement. Like metal, we are heated, beaten, molded so that the impurities will be taken out.
This life is a trial.
How easy would it be to worship a God who is good to us, as defined in our earthly finite perspective, without trials? But how much more of a testimony could we be to others when we are found faithful despite the hardships He allows?
So let us press on. Let us remind ourselves that “God is good, all the time!” Even when we struggle to see it.
If we have placed our faith in Jesus, if we trust Him to help us pass the test called life, we will be rewarded with an eternity of good.
Written by a Life in Messiah staff
What are you struggling with today? Have you tried casting your cares on Him?
Want to dig deeper? Check out this study on the book of Exodus – Where is God in Fearful Times?
How does the reality of suffering shape how you share the gospel with others/Jewish people?