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What is it that is pressing against you this morning? What is it that is gripping your heart like a vice? What is it that is making you question the goodness or presence of the LORD in your circumstance?

Brokenness. Divorce. Disease. Death. Slander. Corruption. Disaster. Loss.

Whatever you see, whatever you are experiencing, is not the depiction of God. God is not the Father of brokenness. He is not the Creator or Master of sin. God is not the instigator of our hurt.

Let’s face it: We live in a world that either largely does not know the Good News or rejects it. While it breaks my heart to think about so many people trying to navigate life’s ups and downs without an awareness of Christ, the reality is that that most live that way! They believe that this is all there is. They are on their own. They need to figure out ways to survive and even thrive independently.

We were never intended to live that way.

Since the beginning of time, God created man to be in a relationship with him. God walked in the garden among Adam and Eve daily. He desired to be with us, as well as desired for us to want to be with Him. Yet real relationship is based on choice. We choose who we want to be in relationship with. And many have chosen something else to try and fill the place of God in their lives.

The result? Brokenness. Divorce. Disease. Death. Slander. Corruption. Disaster. Loss. Evil.

These results are not pictures of God. God is good – all the time. God is faithful. God is reliable. Honest. True. God is the Creator. He is a redeemer. He is a rock, a fortress that cannot be shaken. God sees all things. He knows all things. He is healer. Provider. He is an ever-present help in times of trouble. He is our Savior. He is the King of Kings and LORD of Lords.

Followers of God are not immune from the tragedies of life. They still come. We are not immune. It is because God is all these things, that we as believers can face the garbage that life throws our way differently. “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-10) “That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day for our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

What am I focusing on? The problem or the Savior? If I am overwhelmed, full of fear, consumed with doubt and bitterness, I am focusing on the wrong thing. It is only when I am able to keep my eyes locked on the Savior that I am able to see that there is still some good around me. There is still hope in what seems to be only darkness.

Sometimes we completely miss it because we aren’t asking to see it.

Remember who God is. Remember His great love for you. He has promised that He will never leave you or forsake you. If He promised it, He will do what He said. God cannot lie. He is with you and will hold you by His side through whatever life brings. He will remain there until He brings us home.

Blessings!