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God’s Abiding Presence in Our Pain
Everyone you meet is carrying some sort of burden—maybe it’s a lost love or a lost child, a broken friendship, or a broken home. We all limp as we go about our daily lives, and sometimes the pain is so deep that we can hardly bear to stand up. Our stories may be different, but when we cling to Christ, the God who reaches into our pain is the same.
We like to say, “God is good,” when the laundry is folded and put away and the kids bring you coffee in bed at 9:00am on a Saturday (does that happen?). And we would be right to praise our good God in those happy times. But God is good for deeper reasons than our experience of temporary relief in fluctuating earthly circumstances.
When you hear me say that we shouldn’t bank our hope on our earthly circumstances and that we should put our trust in Christ alone, it comes from a heart that’s been broken over trusting in things that don’t deliver. Too often I have prayed for pacifiers—things that will make me temporarily happy. But when God answers our prayers he will always answer according to his will for our lives—that is, in accordance with his will for us to be sanctified (1 Thess. 4:3). God is not accustomed to giving his children pacifiers to “keep them quiet” so they’ll forget they need him and then leave him alone. When God mercifully refuses to give you the pacifiers you cry for, look forward to receiving what’s best for you— God himself.
Everyone you meet is carrying some sort of burden—maybe it’s a lost love or a lost child, a broken friendship, or a broken home. We all limp as we go about our daily lives, and sometimes the pain is so deep that we can hardly bear to stand up. Our stories may be different, but when we cling to Christ, the God who reaches into our pain is the same.
We like to say, “God is good,” when the laundry is folded and put away and the kids bring you coffee in bed at 9:00am on a Saturday (does that happen?). And we would be right to praise our good God in those happy times. But God is good for deeper reasons than our experience of temporary relief in fluctuating earthly circumstances.
When you hear me say that we shouldn’t bank our hope on our earthly circumstances and that we should put our trust in Christ alone, it comes from a heart that’s been broken over trusting in things that don’t deliver. Too often I have prayed for pacifiers—things that will make me temporarily happy. But when God answers our prayers he will always answer according to his will for our lives—that is, in accordance with his will for us to be sanctified (1 Thess. 4:3). God is not accustomed to giving his children pacifiers to “keep them quiet” so they’ll forget they need him and then leave him alone. When God mercifully refuses to give you the pacifiers you cry for, look forward to receiving what’s best for you— God himself.
About this Plan
Sometimes life feels a lot like a burden—day in and day out it’s the same chores and tasks, anxieties and responsibilities. So where is God in all of this? Does he care about the way we unload the dishwasher or balance the budget? Do the little things like changing diapers make a difference? We all need encouragement to see the reality of God’s grace in all of life.
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