God in All Things

It is only the loyal soul who believes that God engineers circumstances. We take such liberty with our circumstances, we do not believe God engineers them, although we say we do; we treat the things that happen as if they were engineered by men. To be faithful in every circumstance means that we have only one loyalty, and that is to our Lord. Suddenly God breaks up a particular set of circumstances, and the realisation comes that we have been disloyal to Him by not recognising that He had organised them. We never saw what He was after, and that particular thing will never be repeated all the days of our life. The test of loyalty always comes just there. If we learn to worship God in the trying circumstances, He will alter them in two seconds when He chooses. -Oswald Chambers 

It's not what "they" are doing to themselves or what "they" did to you. It's what God has allowed for a reason. Only He knows the reason, but sometimes He may give us a tiny fraction of a glimpse of what He is doing in a circumstance. It could be He is using a situation to turn our eyes back to Him, to grow our faith, to reveal things we need to work on, to turn us from sin, to teach us empathy, to reveal ways we can pray for and be a help to others, to reveal how we harmed someone else and need to make amends, to provide for us, or so on. 

Dear Reader, It is so much easier to praise the Lord when things are going very well for us, but I challenge you to praise Him even when things are very difficult. You can rest assured that both favorable and hard circumstances are allowed by the Father for our good and His glory. That knowledge alone is reason to praise Him even in the worst of circumstances. Seek Him in each circumstance and ask Him what He is trying to teach you through it. Look for the lessons. 

I know some of our readers, young and old, are going through difficult times at the moment. Everyone's challenge is different from the others, but they are all arduous which should give us compassion for each other. Disease, addiction, losses, financial struggles, relationship problems, and more all bring anxiety and pain. 

I wish I could hug each of you and look you in the eye and tell you that God has a plan even in the hardships! He loves you so much! Read your Bible, obey Him, and keep your eyes on Him. Even in the ugly, scary, and disappointing, there is beauty because His love for us and His goodness to us are still evident. 

I am truly sorry for the trouble in your life. I may not understand the situation, but I can understand the struggles. If you need a friend or a break from life, there is rest, companionship, and a cup of tea or coffee at my table. 

You will know more of Jesus in one sanctified trial, than in wading through a library of volumes, or listening to a lifetime of sermons. 

-Octavius Winslow

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. James 1:2-8