Monday, May 22, 2017

Quote - Faith in Action

"When I don't understand what He does, I trust who He is."

~ Carl Lentz

There are many situations that we go through that we do not understand.  Some people during times of tragedy will turn away from God, it becomes a tipping point in their lives.  That is where their story either temporarily or permanently ends with God.  Others find a way to give their entire focus to God despite what is going on in their lives.  Those are the moments we need God the most, during the tough times.  I have seen people who have a close relationship with God go through such terrible things and watch in admiration how they cope by praising God in the midst of such sadness because I don't know if I would be able to be that strong.  The peace that they have is unmatched to anything else in this world.

I have also seen people who where Christians completely turn away from God because of a terrible situation.  They say "How could God let this happen to me."  They are angry and bitter and never seem to have much joy after that time.  God does not want that for us, He loves us through the sadness and heartbreak.

God knows we need time and He knows we get mad at Him when a loved one dies or we see a terrible injustice in the world and I think He is OK with that because He gave us our emotions as a way to process things we see and feel.  The Israelite's had a time of grieving in the Bible then they were to move on.  It sounds cruel, but I believe it kept the people from completely turning away from God in their grief because God restores the brokenhearted.  The problem arises when after a time of grief we don't turn to God or the grieving never ends.  I know for some that is the farthest thing from their minds, but He promises to comfort those who come to Him.  This does not mean you forget what happened, it means you are able to take one step at a time every day.

We see the back of a tapestry it's chaotic and ugly, but God sees the front side that is a beautiful masterpiece.  Another way to look at it is if you are a piece of thread on the front side of the tapestry and you look around, you will only see a few strands that are right by you, but what you fail to see is the entire magnificent picture.  So trying to figure God out is a useless pursuit.  Faith goes beyond any of our reasoning, thoughts, explanations and ideas.  We are to rely on God and not on our own understanding.