When I find myself in situations where I don’t feel the best, or on days when nothing seems to go well, I continue to learn to rest in God’s active work in my circumstances. When I see all things as coming from His hand, as ordained by Him, allowed by Him, and governed by Him, I settle down into the faith that proclaims all things are working for good here.
A mysterious divine law works here, even if I can’t tap into the meaning yet. But here, God works precisely in this tender place of faith and hope. Here, God holds me in His hand.
Right here! I’m here in this situation on purpose! And the law of God’s everlasting and all-consuming love never fails to operate over my life, no matter what’s happening.
If it’s a painful or confusing time, I think about what God allows to build our character, perseverance, and faith. We keep pressing into truth, over and over again, day after day. I think of 1 Peter 4:12 and living without surprise that these strange things happen to us. I think of James 1:2-4 and the joy we feel in trial because we know it’s developing the kind of perseverance that makes us “mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
Can you imagine? Mature and complete, not lacking anything! Yes, I’ll take the trial if it’s accomplishing this in me!
This morning I read Hannah Whitall Smith’s words of wisdom about days when you can’t believe certain bad things happen to you. She writes:
But the subtle forms of self-life that would ruin us if left undiscovered and unchecked are often most vigorous in those whose outward walk is all that could be desired, and it sometimes takes sharp discipline to uproot them. In this fact lies hidden the secret of much that is mysterious in the dealings of the Lord with the souls of His servants. He loves us too much to permit any evil to linger undiscovered and uncured in our natures, and He will probe us sharply before He will allow our hurt to be healed. This is not severity but mercy.
I welcome the sharp probing of His love. I rest in mystery, in faith, and in the goodness of God.