“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever”
1 Chronicles 16:34
It was a beautiful drive to the airport. For a full half hour, my eyes danced along the beautiful sight of the Colorado Rockies. What a great way to end an incredible retreat! I felt refreshed, re-energized and ignited with a new flame of faith. As I glanced down at my cell phone to see the time, I noticed a text message from one my church friends. “Are you in town? Lots going on at church. Like LOTS.” Confused, I told her I was supposed to talk to one of our pastors and would be sure to ask him about it. “Well, ping me after you talk…and call me when you get home, I don’t want to lose touch!” My heart felt like it fell to my knees. I knew there were things going on, but this…this was bad. Please God, no! Not us, not this way.
When I finally got in touch with my pastor and found out that we were losing our church, my happy feelings started to subside and I felt like a little 5 year old was living inside me. “Why God? But why? Why? Why? Why?” My logical, over-analytical brain was unable to wrap my arms around an answer. It just didn’t make sense! My heart was hurt and I felt like there was nothing I could do to comfort it. Have you ever felt this way? Like you’ve done everything right and STILL this is happening? Well, after praying, thinking about it and talking with friends, I came to understand something…
Bad things happen. That’s it. We live in a fallen world where things go wrong, people get hurt and circumstances are unjustified. But here’s the good news: We never have to face this alone because God as 1 Corinthians 16:34 says is good. And if He is good, all things coming from Him are good. God is not in the business of causing problems; rather He is the solution walking us through because when we hurt, He hurts. When we fall, His hand is right there to pick us up again. And while we may never understand or get an answer, we can have confidence in knowing that in Him good things will come. All we have to do is trust that and place our hand in His.
"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you…” Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
