Is God Really Good?

Is God Really Good?

Some ask how God is good when things are bad.

When the pain is so deep and the emptiness so great, words meant to comfort are hollow.

Your heart is so wounded, so empty, there is nowhere for the words to settle.

We want to be left alone in our pain. We want to submit to its power and let it sweep us away because it’s better than trying to live.

Still, the Bible says God is good.

Will you see it?

God made us able to endure suffering. You may not feel it right away, but it will come at the right time.

No matter who you are, where you come from, what you believe – it doesn’t matter. We are all given the ability to choose.

Some call it the human spirit. Some call it faith. Either way, it is God who gives us courage, strength, endurance and joy – yes, even joy – hidden deeply within every one of us. We only find it when we are faced with needing it.

There will come a moment when you feel it. An unfamiliar sensation coaxing you up out the pit of darkness and despair.  And you will push it aside because you don’t want it.

But God is patient.

You say, “But she has always been optimistic and good-natured. It’s easier for her”.

While it’s true we might think some have an advantage, we are all at the same starting point when it comes to pain. Even the most pessimistic or distrustful among us can be encouraged and inspired when we see someone overcoming pain. You don’t try to copy or pretend what you are not. You choose to believe somewhere inside, you have what they have. It might look different, but it’s there.

Because God is good.

And that is the starting point for the healing of your heart. Saying it, accepting it, and believing it for the truth it is.

You don’t have to work at it. God does the rest.

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

– The Bible

greyscale photography of woman wearing long sleeved top
Photo by Kat Jayne on Pexels.com

 

 

tomorrow is another day.

tomorrow is another day.

Some of us trudge through life with our half-empty glasses and believe we’re going to lose what we have.

Some of us just maneuver around the obstacles trying to keep our half-full glasses from spilling over.

The latter is more fun.

half-full-1_l
dibnv / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA

It’s not the kind of positive thinking that requires  I-think-I-can-I-think-I can.

It’s choosing to be optimistic and hopeful.

Remember. Tomorrow is another day!

~~~

perseverance.

perseverance.

Ugh. Perseverance. A word that will conjure up the thought of work.

But did you ever think of it as waiting?

Waiting is work, too. But not in the sense of using too much emotional, physical, or mental energy. It’s deciding not to give up and so you will wait as long as it takes. You never know what is just around the corner. Things change in a moment, a day, a week, or a year.

So why not take the attitude of being optimistic?

It’s a choice. It has nothing to do with how you feel. Once you make the choice to persevere – not give up – watch how you will feel.

No matter how bitterly cold and snowy the winter is, the forsythia blooms, the robins make their nests, and the meadows are dotted with cheery buttercups and happy daisies.

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This is the promise of hope.

Don’t give up.

half-full.

half-full.

Some of us trudge through life with our half-empty glasses, waiting for the other shoe to fall.

Some of us maneuver around the obstacles trying to keep our half-full glasses from spilling over.

The latter is more fun.

half-full-1_l

 

It’s not the kind of positive thinking that requires work … I-think-I-can-I-think-I can …

It’s choosing to be optimistic and hopeful.

Remember. Tomorrow’s another day!

 

~~~

Photo credit: dibnv / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA