Have you ever been in a tough situation where you’ve cried out to God…only to be met with silence?

Times like this can be mistaken for apathy, but nothing could be further from the truth.

To understand the way God works through situations, you have to understand God’s heart…a feat no one on earth can ever fully accomplish. His heart is good…His ways are perfect. His thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways.

I once heard it said that our comprehension and ability to understand God would literally be like dipping a thimble into the ocean. The water in the thimble is our mind’s ability to wrap itself around knowing and understanding God compared to the overwhelming knowledge of God that is truly the ENTIRE ocean!

What if you find yourself going through excruciating heartache or grief…you’re seeking God with your whole heart to find an answer or some resolution for a tough challenge in life?

I HIGHLY encourage you to not give up! 

Sometimes God will ALLOW (allow, NOT cause) you to go through extreme and unfair situations because He knows the treasure and blessings He has in store for you after the storm has passed.

Sometimes, it can seem as though God isn’t dealing with someone or a situation. He may be giving the person a chance to do the right thing because of His great mercy…but God will even allow a person to continue on in their sin so that their wickedness will finally demand that they are disciplined.

It’s very important to realize this because it greatly helps us to understand why God sometimes doesn’t “instantly” help us…even if we are claiming scripture like crazy!

He’s looking at a MUCH bigger picture, the grand scheme of things, that focuses on EVERYBODY in a situation…even GENERATIONS…sometimes even people who haven’t even been born yet!

Trust God with whatever tough situation you are facing today, remove the “deadlines” you may have unintentionally placed on God, and allow Him to work throughout the entire situation.

Remember: He has the power to do more in a MOMENT than we could ever do in a LIFETIME!

God will never sacrifice what is best in the long term to make us feel better or more comfortable in the short term.
Although painful, disillusioning, and sometimes disappointing, God asks us to trust Him and His plans, not understand Him.💕

There are MANY stories in the Bible where people couldn’t initially see God’s plan—yet chose to trust and obey God regardless: Joseph with his brothers, Esther, Moses, Joseph & Mary, Jesus, the disciples, Paul, etc!

Think about the following scripture, as well as the consequences, had God stopped short and gave short term comfort vs the long term best:
“After this, Abram had a vision and heard the Lord say to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I will shield you from danger and give you a great reward.” But Abram answered, “Sovereign Lord, what good will your reward do me, since I have no children? My only heir is Eliezer of Damascus. You have given me no children, and one of my slaves will inherit my property.” Then he heard the Lord speaking to him again: “This slave Eliezer will not inherit your property; your own son will be your heir.” The Lord took him outside and said, “Look at the sky and try to count the stars; you will have as many descendants as that.” Abram put his trust in the Lord, and because of this the Lord was pleased with him and accepted him. Then the Lord said to him, “I am the Lord, who led you out of Ur in Babylonia, to give you this land as your own.” But Abram asked, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that it will be mine?” He answered, “Bring me a cow, a goat, and a ram, each of them three years old, and a dove and a pigeon.” Abram brought the animals to God, cut them in half, and placed the halves opposite each other in two rows; but he did not cut up the birds. Vultures came down on the bodies, but Abram drove them off. When the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and fear and terror came over him. The Lord said to him, “Your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land; they will be slaves there and will be treated cruelly for 400 years. But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and when they leave that foreign land, they will take great wealth with them. You yourself will live to a ripe old age, die in peace, and be buried. It will be four generations before your descendants come back here, because I will not drive out the Amorites until they become so wicked that they must be punished.” When the sun had set and it was dark, a smoking fire-pot and a flaming torch suddenly appeared and passed between the pieces of the animals. Then and there the Lord made a covenant with Abram. He said, “I promise to give your descendants all this land from the border of Egypt to the River Euphrates, including the lands of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.” (Genesis 15:1-21 GNB)

It’s interesting that the Bible makes it a point to share how the vultures came down but Abram (who would later become Abraham) chased them off. The same goes for our tough situations…something or someone will try to thwart God’s best for our lives, or will attempt to take our eyes off of God. We can be tempted to quit, or to think God isn’t listening or doesn’t care, but it is up to us to chase the temptation away. It’s our responsibility to love and obey God through hardships—and it’s God’s responsibility to see our situation faithfully through.

Today, have a heart to heart with God. Share your heart and tell Him everything you’re thinking, feeling, and going through. Ask Him to do a God-sized work in you and through you, and grant you the encouragement, help, and/or miracle you need.

Trust God today…obey Him…love Him…praise Him…allow Him to see you through!

Gratitude & blessings,

Kim

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2. Grief Bites: Doubt Revealed: https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/954-grief-bites-doubt-revealed 

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