Where is God in all of This?

We must realize that God may not answer all our questions about life’s suffering; but He is in control. Today with all the evil in the world, there are many Christians who live in obedience to God’s Word.  He continues to live in the hearts of those that have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. 

In the beginning when God created man and woman, evil came into the world. Both Adam and Eve were told by God not to eat the fruit of the tree of good and evil. Eve was tempted by Satan and couldn’t resist. She ate this delicious fruit and gave a taste to Adam. It was at this moment evil entered the Garden of Eden. Not long after, their son Cain slew Abel his brother. God was always there knowing exactly what was going on. 

“God saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The Lord was grieved that He had made man on the earth, and His heart was filled with pain. So the Lord said, “I will wipe mankind whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals….but Noah found favor in the eyes of God” Genesis 6:5-8. Only Noah and his family were saved when God sent the flood. 

Job was one of the most righteous men in the Bible.  In verse 9, Satan asked God, does Job fear God for nothing? “The Lord said to Satan, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”  Job 1:12 

A pastor at my church, said: “Many times I have counseled with people who ask the question, “where is God in all of this?” There are times I sense that the question is a different way of expressing, “this doesn’t seem fair.” While I try to never to minimize or doubt the seriousness of one’s hurt or pain, I do gently respond with what I believe to be truthful responses to these thoughts.

It's important for us to realize what God’s Word does and does not promise to believers; we are not guaranteed a perfect existence in this earthy life. This is not yet heaven; heaven is the perfect place that follows this life. In fact, God’s Word warns us that we will have trials in this life. The victorious life is not necessarily the absence of trials, but the presence of a God who wonderfully loves - that He provides us strength to bring us through the trials. 

Does life seem fair? Absolutely not, and praise God that it isn’t. If life contained perfect justice, every one of us would suffer eternally for every shortcoming in our imperfect lives. It is better than fair that a righteous Savior bridges the gap between imperfect man and a perfect God. 

So, where is God in all of this? God is right where He should be – in Heaven throughout eternity with an outstretched hand of grace and forgiveness to as many as will receive Him.

 

 

 

Let's Make America Greater

I noticed, once again, how beautiful our country is as we traveled on vacation. We passed through the rugged mountains of Tennessee, the blue grass of Kentucky, and the amber waves of grain in Indiana.

As we were visiting Ruby Falls, in Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, a lady leaned over my shoulder and whispered, "How can anyone see this and not believe there is a God? I thought of her words and realized it's not that we don't believe there's a God, but do we know Him. How can we know Him if we don't read His Word?

America seems to have forgotten the Bible; but our founding fathers knew the value of the Bible as the foundation of morality.

George Washington: "It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible."

Abraham Lincoln: "I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. All the good from The Savior of the world is communicated to us through this Book."

Patrick Henry: "The Bible is worth all the other books which have ever been printed."

Yes, we can make America greater if we start back to basics, back to truth, back to morality, back to work ethics, and back to the Bible.    

Follow Peace

 

"For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline."  2 Timothy 1:7

 

With what our country has gone through these last several months, it has been easy for people to give in to anxiety, worry, and stress. During this time peace may seem difficult to keep, especially when facing all that is going on in your life.

 

Ask God to give you peace. He gives us a peace that passes all understanding. "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7

 

It's God desire for you to live with His peace and His strength during times of unrest. Take time today to rest in Him - read His Word about peace. His peace, wonderful peace - that only comes from above.