GOD'S FAITHFULNESS

"But the LORD is faithful, He will establish you and guard you against the evil one."

[2 Thessalonians 3:3]

Trusting God is easy when times are good; when we are healthy and happy, prosperous and protected. But how do we rest in His sovereignty when we do not understand His plan?

Sometimes we can ask God to take something away and instead He will give us the strength to walk through it; and that’s the part of following Jesus nobody really prepares you for. Because sometimes when we pray, things don’t immediately get better.

Sometimes we can cry ourselves to sleep and wake up facing the same battle. We can open our Bible looking for answers, but all we can do is sit there with tears running down our face. We can wonder why God would allow something that hurts so much when He knows how desperately we have been praying for relief.

But just because God has not removed the storm does not mean He has abandoned us in it.

I think about the seasons of my life that nearly broke me. The nights I questioned everything, the prayers I whispered through tears, the moments I genuinely did not know how I was going to make it through another day. Looking back now on those difficult times, I can see something I could not see then.

God was there the entire time. God is close to us when we experience pain and hardship, but we miss out on experiencing Him because we let the pain of the situation make us forget He is right beside us.

He was there when I was angry and confused. He was there when my faith felt smaller than my fear. He was there when I had nothing left to give.

Somehow, the very season I thought would destroy me became the season that brought me closer to Jesus than I had ever been before. Not because the pain was good or what I went through was okay, but because God can bring something beautiful out of situations that were never supposed to happen. Our greatest testimony comes from the chapter we never wanted to live through.

So if you are in that season right now, please don’t give up. God wants us to call out to Him for help; choose to turn to Him. Keep praying, even when your voice shakes. Keep opening your Bible, even when you do not understand. Keep worshipping even when you are hurting. Keep trusting Him, even when you cannot see what He is doing, because our pain is not proof that God has forgotten us. The chapter that almost broke us does not have to be the chapter that defines us.

One day you will look back at the very thing you asked God to remove and realise that even in the middle of your brokenness He was there holding you together.

What the enemy meant to use to destroy our faith, God can turn into a testimony that helps someone else find theirs.

At times of hardship, remember that the pain we feel is real, our tears are real and the heartbreak is real. But so is His faithfulness.

He is 100% reliable. His love and justice are unchanging and never waver or fade. His compassion and faithfulness are fresh and active and if we take the time to look for those mercies and His faithfulness, we will see them.

He will provide all we need especially during a crisis because His faithfulness endures forever.

How reassuring is that!