It is so easy to become discouraged based on what we believe, or what we think we believe. Sometimes it seems like the gospel and our version of the gospel are lightyears apart.
Am I the only one?
It’s hard to deal with this world full of sin, the sin in our lives, and the hardest of all is the sin in our hearts, because sometimes the heart can be very deceiving.
I’m not talking about a particular sin necessarily, though there is that. I am talking about the propensity for sin to dwell in our hearts at all times because we live in a fallen world.
Paul said it well when he wrote, that which I want to do, I don’t, and that which I desire not to do, I somehow do it anyway (loose paraphrase). We would rather turn away and not think about those things, because in our humanness, we assume God feels that way too.
But here’s the thing…God doesn’t see us that way at all. He doesn’t look at us and see sin. He looks at us and sees the redemptive work of Jesus. That’s why Jesus came and did the thing He did.
It’s easy to forget the death and resurrection of Jesus and look instead on the everydayness of our busy lives, and at all the times we seemingly fail, dwelling on the things we do “wrong”. When things are spiraling out of control and our lives get really messy, we can begin to wonder where God is and what He is doing, and why He is allowing this to happen. It’s natural but there is another way.
That is the reason I love Psalm 139. All of it, but for this purpose, verse 16 stands out to me, “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, everyone of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them.”
If this says what I think it say, and I’m pretty sure it does, Every. Single. Day that we live, with all the troubles we have encountered…ALL of it is written in God’s book before we even lived one day.
There is nothing you have faced or will face in the future that surprises God. Nothing. He has crafted your story, all the events and all the people who play a part in your life. Yes, even THAT one has been placed in your life for a reason and purpose above anything we can fathom because His ways are higher than ours.
And here’s the real kicker, He has written the end of your story too.
That’s the part that often trips me up. It’s easier for me to go along with the journey, trusting in God to do what He wants to do for my good and His glory, but I don’t always trust Him with the end of the story.
Am I the only one?
If we really believe what we say we believe, and we really believe in this sovereign God who created the universe, then why is it so hard to trust Him with the end of our stories and with all the tales that make up our stories?
Am I the only one?
If you are anything like me and you sometimes get tripped up in the whys and what fors, you might find comfort in knowing that you are not the only one.
Lord, help us to trust in You, even when it’s hard and we have no idea what or why. Help us to trust in You not just with our stories but with how our story ends as well, for our good and Your glory always. Amen.
Where do you turn when you feel alone? Who do you trust when you feel alone? Where do you put your hope?
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