I’ve seen God move in incredible ways this summer. He’s answered so many desperate prayers, and I’m so thankful. But what about the prayers He’s yet to answer? What about the painful situations I see all around me and can’t seem to understand? It’s hard not to question why the Lord allows heartache and tragedy, why He makes us wait, or why the answer is sometimes “no.”
Over the years, I’ve still struggled with sin and doubt, but He’s been so faithful to lead me, convict me, and prod me closer and closer to Himself. Like a loving, patient Shepherd, He doesn’t allow His sheep to stray too far. I’m never beyond His view and never outside of His reach. He provides for me and protects me, He comforts me in every trouble, and at His right hand are treasures forevermore.
The beautiful thing is that when we put Him first, when we submit to His will and His way, we find joy, peace, and blessing unimaginable. Nothing on earth, nothing I can accumulate, and nothing I can accomplish comes close to the satisfaction of knowing Him and living for Him.
With my law school graduation only a few days away, I can’t help but reflect on this season as it comes to an end. I’m thrilled and can’t wait for the next chapter, but I also feel a sense of heaviness. I’ve walked through more hard things these past three years, law school being only one of them, than I have my whole life before that combined.
I’m sure there will be more anxious days, but I don’t have to face them alone. I have the word of God and the Holy Spirit to comfort me in those times. When I pray God’s word, I’m reminded of that. I’m reminded of His goodness and faithfulness from generation to generation.
Because of Jesus, we don’t have to wait for the Lord to descend in a cloud or appear in fire. Because of Jesus, we have unfettered access to the Father, and we have His presence with us always in the person of the Holy Spirit. He speaks to those who belong to Him when we quiet ourselves long enough to listen.
There’s no way I can say anything more powerful than what His Word already does. But what I know is this: whether we’re like David running for our lives or like Habakkuk in a barren season, our God is our everpresent help and our strength. He makes our steps secure and keeps us from slipping. He enables us to scale heights as we walk with Him and follow His lead. The same God who was with David and Habakkuk is with you and me.
At its very root, fear is a lack of faith. Anxiety and worry fail to recognize God as God. Fear forgets that He is sovereign and good, that He holds the past, present, and every day to come.
I may still be afraid. My faith still falters, and I give way to worry. All too often I remember what came before the miracle. And though my body is completely healed, I sometimes feel the trauma of what happened. But when I trust Him, I don’t need to understand. For He’s worthy of holding my deepest and darkest fears — because only He can make them beautiful. Only He can take the greatest pain and turn it into good and glory. That’s what He did in Jesus. And that’s what He’s doing in us.
Oftentimes, the very place where we struggle to trust God the most is the stage on which He performs miracles. For despite our doubt and our wavering faith, He always has been and forever will be trustworthy.
I let a couple of mistakes and a couple of poor decisions start to define me. I took it on and owned it, letting it become part of my identity in a way. I starting walking in the emptiness of the world, rather than walking in God’s way.
One day, later on, we may get a glimpse of what right now was all about. One day we’ll see the significance of this appointed time. Until then, we continue to live, and we continue to walk it out. We continue to say ‘yes’ to whatever He puts in our way.
There will be a day very soon where restaurants will reopen, people will go back to work, and the economy will stabilize. But we should be changed after all this. In what specific ways, I can’t really say. I think it’s different for all of us.
He rises from the glory of His throne, to kneel down and show you compassion. In the middle of the stress, in the midst of the unknown, when you’re being tossed and turned by the waves, He reaches down and pulls you into His embrace. So between the shore and the deep, we can still carry His peace.
See, oftentimes when we pray, we pray out of fear. We beg God to come through for us, but deep down we really don’t believe that He will. Why is that? Could it be we’re disheartened from praying, asking, and receiving no answer? Or could it also be that we’ve lost sight of who God is and who we are?
God’s plan and His path for each of us is so specific and unique. What He’s calling me to isn’t what He’s calling you to. And the season I’m in right now is unlike yours. We trip up when we compare, when we give in to the pressure, and when we start to believe that somehow we’re not enough because our lives don’t look like everyone else’s.
Where do we draw the line between wanting and waiting, trusting and pursuing, being hopeful but feeling hopeless? It’s a difficult balance. Even in dating relationships, there’s trouble. They end sometimes just as quickly as they begin. And we’re left with a bunch of brokenhearted people, searching to fill the areas of their hearts that have been left empty.
In the moments I’m tempted to settle for what’s comfortable and known, He reminds me that there is more. There is so much more for the struggles I face, so much more than for unanswered questions and unfulfilled dreams. There is more life to be found and more joy to abound—if I’d only stay connected to the One who does these things.
God put you exactly where you are, in this appointed time, for a specific purpose. Know what it is and cling to it! Nothing about your life is an accident. Trust Him—He knows what He’s doing, even when you don’t. And when you find that the world’s not enough, reach out for Him. For He’s not far from any one of us.
