We are under the reign of a good, good God. He is immutable— never-changing. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). He is eternal, concerned with nothing but the present moment we are living in—the present moment in which we will make forever-lasting decisions on how we depend on our good, good God. He is a jealous God who desires our full attention. He is gracious, giving us love and more chances than we should ever get. He is merciful, forgiving our every wrong and ready to be with us as we move forward in life here on earth. And because He is a good, good Father, these are only a few attributes that make up the wholeness of who He really is. There are more that we can grasp as humans, but as humans with minds so limited, we cannot FULLY grasp the WHOLE being and glorious splendor of all that God is and has to offer.
With our fickle minds, we oftentimes question God in His sovereignty and underestimate what He has the capability of doing. We question His goodness and take matters into our own hands to try to justify ourselves with the world. We compare our sufferings with those who seem to have none. We question if the Godly life is even worth it as we navigate through life because sometimes we feel as though our current situations mean more than what is to come in eternity. We hold the world in one hand and God in the other, balancing them to equal the same weight… When we ALREADY know that the world should hit the floor when we have God weighing on the other side of the scale. But, like I said, we try to justify these things with our own skewed understanding, making things more complicated than God intended them to be. God warns us that we will not have an easy life here on earth because we were called to be set apart from the world (Deuteronomy 14:2). Like anything, it is tough to stand out and be different than what is surrounding us. But with the difficulties of this, God promises to be there. He promises His presence always as we search for answers. God never promised this life would be easy, but He does promise to be with us always.
While trying to take matters into our own hands, we try to stop the suffering. We fill ourselves with temporary pleasures that will run out, leaving us empty-handed. We try to gain satisfaction from things that never will. We do this as our eyes stray from a God who has the answers to the world who tries to just “get by” until the next fire comes along to burn us. The power of these things that world turns to will die out at death, whereas, the power of our God reigns with eternal life. Our minds are set in confusion as we try to juggle a double-sided life that will please both God and the world. We find ourselves in this vicious cycle of confusion because we are not grounded in one or the other. In this confusion, we must remember that our weakness can be made strong when our eyes are set on the One who can give us the strength. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 says, “But [the Lord] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” The world does not provide grace and does not provide power of strength in our weaknesses. Instead, the world closes in on us and wants our weaknesses to stay at that—it provides us with no sustenance of any kind. The earth is here today and gone tomorrow, but our God is forever. Where we fall short, God’s mercy shines through the cracks of our brokenness. The Lord does not get tired of our need for him; instead, He takes it as great joy because as our Father, He wants to provide that strength for us. Psalm 73:26 says, “My flesh and heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” When we recognize that our flesh and our hearts are not forever, God will become the strength of our hearts and will be our portion forever. He IS forever. This is exactly why we should “boast in our weaknesses and delight in our insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties,” for they are temporary when our God is forever.
I know as I navigate through life, I can get stuck in the cycle of confusion. I look at others and wonder why their lives seem less chaotic than mine. It’s hard to keep holding on to a big, big God when life outside of that seems simpler. But God, being complex in every way, is beautiful in that He works mysteriously in which the world cannot understand. Looking at my life, I can attest to the goodness of our God. I can see His faithfulness and how He’s held me through the impossible, making a way when there was none. I can remember the darkest moments when the world failed me, but God caught me in the mess and walked with me through the darkness, lighting the way as we went. I remember God loving me through it all and forgiving me as I tripped in our walk. I remember the joy He provided me when joy should have been lost. I remember the hope He gave me when I saw my days coming to a close. I continue to read scripture, and I am constantly reminded of who He is and the promises He has for His children. We are under the reign of a good, good God, and looking at His hold on my life, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
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