Faith for hard times

I out of the blue got a mail with a translation of a post written in Norwegian, a dear friend and brother had done it. I have gone through it and made a few corrections, but most is as I got it. Thank you  Steven! You did a great work considering you don’t speak, write or read Norwegian! 🙂

Faith for hard times

There are days and times in life when we feel God is far away. We have for a long time prayed over things that are close to our hearts, but it never seems to happen. There are trials that have lasted a long time and that does not seem to diminish in strength, just increase on. We can feel a bit confused and frustrated because we do not know what’s going on. We know that our lives are fully surrendered to God and that what we want is his will and way,, yet we feel a little off and set aside.

One thing I have learned more over the years is to accept that God does not owe me an explanation of why things are and go as they do. We humans will often understand and know, but in relation to God, we often have to learn to accept to live in faith. God is God and He knows best, and we must rely on him, his love and his promises to us. The day we can not see God’s hand, we must choose to trust his heart.

God has such great plans for us that no one surpasses him in good thoughts and plans for our lives. He has our best and his glory in mind in all thing,s and he also sees the full picture in which we only see bits and pieces. God has promised to never forsake us nor leave us and Jesus himself said that he would be with us always, to the end. All days are also all sorts of days. The good and the bad, the happy and the sorrowful, the light and heavy. God promises to be with us through all things, and that when we hold fast to him he will give us what we need to stand as more than the winners. We will gain insight and wisdom, we will gain strength and power, we will be given new hope and a deep peace. God not only sees what we feel and experience, but he has the deepest empathy with us. He sees our tears and it does something to him, he sees our despair and it touches his heart. God will keep his children close and speak words of hope, peace, love and strength to them. There are many things we ourselves can never manage to get through, but Christ in us will make it. And here lies the core, when we can’t manage, we must cling to he who can and his strength will take us through. God does not necessarily make things easy and pleasant, but he makes it possible, «I can do all things in Him who strengthens me.»

When God says no to us, it does not mean that he reject us, but only that it is not in his plan and will for us and other people involved. We many times forget that God said no to Jesus too. Do you remember Jesus praying to escape the suffering? Let this cup pass from me, but just as you want. When God said no to that prayer it was not to take Jesus but so that the grace and glory could be greater for many.. Jesus had for years been prepared for what he was going to meet and had to endure, but in his darkest and heaviest moment he knew that the glory and grace that would come afterward was much greater than the pain he had to endure, and that insight made Jesus endured his worst moments.

We will all meeting times and moments in life where we can not understand or figure out the way and plan of God. When we do not see the hand of God, we must rely on his heart and God will in all things prove himself true and faithful. When we learn to let go off he desire to understand everything, we let God more in our lives and release him to be God as He sees and knows best. When we let God throne as Lord of our lives, he will always determine, manage, lead and facilitate our best in an eternal perspective. God does not necessarily make everything easy and comfortable, but He makes it possible.

May God bless your day and heart with joy and peace, strength and power.

Scriptures: Deut.31: 8, Matt.11: 28, 26:38-39 and 28:20, Isa.40: 29, 41:10, 43:1-5a, 50:10 and 63:9, Jer.29 :11-14a, Ps.40: 5, 62:5-8 and 62:11-12, Prov.3 :5-7, Rom.8: 18, 28, 37-39, 15:13, Heb.2 :14-18, 4:15-16 and 12:2-3, Phil.4: 13 and 4:19-20