one-he-art-blog - Tumblr blog

[one-he-art-blog]

God will not let you shed a needless tear.

[one-he-art-blog]

{Beauty.in.chaos}

{Beauty.in.chaos}

“ For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them.”- Ecclesiastes 9:12

How do we react with unexpected loss and suffering such as this? Initially, it’s tempting to just get very emotional: showing anger, confusion, and not trust God. It’s okay to get emotional to some extent—that’s healthy. But we know that it typically gets messy when we start pointing fingers to God or to others. Yes, you may be the victim, but remember the truth about why God allows things to happen to His beloved (us!). It typically comes down to three things: it’s for His glory, the purposes of His Kingdom, and for our good. That last one may not make sense, but this may very well often be why. Trust Him through it. The Holy Spirit may be sanctifying us through the trial, making us look more like Jesus, burning away the things that are of the flesh (Hebrews 12:29). Beloved, let’s meditate on Romans 8:28, a truth that God has for us, which says that “God works all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.” Did you get that? “ALL THINGS.” Wow. That’s an absolute statement. He is for our good (Psalm 84:11). Let’s look at Jesus’ suffering. When you think about it after you ask why God allows suffering to those He loves, He’s a perfect example. The worst thing happened to the Greatest Person in history! He understood the full weight of harm done on Calvary. And His discipline is for our good (Hebrews 12:5-6). He loves us infinitely more than we can understand with our finite minds. Trust Him. Trust His unfailing character—His wisdom, graciousness perfect time, kindness, and most of all…HIS LOVE! He is love! When you seek His face through the loss, you fall in love. He will bless you in His perfect time, answering our prayers either here or with the perfect promise of eternity. Remember the story of Job? Here’s a godly man that lost it all, everything except his life. And in the end, God blessed Job’s obedience with twice as much as before! God never put Job through more than He could handle without His presence (1 Corinthians 10:13). When Job asked why, like we so often ask when we lose something, God gave him an answer that may not make sense to us. In sum, God said to Job, “Who are you and who am I? It is because I am God and you are not.” How humbling for Job (Job 40:3-5). No straight reason, and there doesn't need to be. We often think that God needs to answer to us like we would understand; sometimes those are for Him only (Deuteronomy 29:29). Our mind probably wouldn't even understand His grand reasoning. He doesn't always promise us understanding, but He promises us Him! His very presence! And, Beloved, that should be more than enough for us to trust Him. Let’s worship Him even as we lose everything (Job 1:20-22) for His unfading character and thank Him for what is to come: good things.

Prayer: Thank you God for making beautiful things out of chaos. When we don’t understand, Holy Spirit, we ask for your guidance to help us choose You. Thank you for not letting us shed any needless tears, God. Thank you Jesus for the beauty you bring us into from your suffering. We can take heart (John 16:33). You’ve promised us so much more than what we lose to get closer to you (Romans 8:18). We’d rather not have things between our love for you, God. We want you. Holy Spirit, help us forgive those who’ve wronged us, leaving us as victims because You, God, did that. You forgave. Thank you, Jesus. Sanctify us, Holy Spirit.