God, Where Are You?

 

By Andrea Merrell

No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.

1 Corinthians 10:13 MSG

 

“I’ve been to hell, and I’m only halfway back,” I told my husband. Not something I would normally say but exactly how I felt after a recent back surgery.

After twenty-five-plus years of chronic back pain, I made the decision about surgery with peace, confidence in the surgeon, and more prayer covering than I could have ever hoped for. It seemed the Lord brought everything together, including the timing. My stay in the hospital was to be no more than three days.

But when I should have been preparing to go home, things took a nosedive. I had a reaction to the anesthesia, which set off a firestorm inside me and kept me in the hospital for eight days instead of three. I was so sick I could barely function or even think. During one of the darkest times of my life, I felt as if the Enemy was trying to take me out. That’s when I said, “God, where are you?”

As always, He was right there with me, but in the same way Peter took his eyes off Jesus and focused on the storm swirling around him, I focused on my circumstances. I was afraid and let fear get the best of me. I panicked, wondering if I would make it. I tried to pray, to call out to the Lord, but my body screamed louder than my prayers. My dependence remained on those I knew were interceding for me.

When back home and things were a bit more settled down, I cried as I asked God to forgive me for thinking even for a moment that He had abandoned me. I was sure I had let Him down. I let myself down.

That’s when I heard Jesus whisper, Remember, I felt that way once too.

God has promised to never leave us or let us be pushed past our limit. Even when we’re sure we can’t take another horrendous moment, He is right there with us, ready to help us come through victorious. And when we falter in our faith, He forgives, restores, and tells us not to be so hard on ourselves. We are, after all, human beings, in a fragile, temporary body, subject to a curse that fills the earth.

But one day we will stand before Him in a place prepared for us where there are no tears, no sorrow, no pain, and no more death. I’m looking forward to that day, but until then I will trust Him with my whole heart.

How about you?

Photo by Kinga Howard on Unsplash

Learn to Go with the Flow

 By Andrea Merrell

 

We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.

Proverbs 16:9 NLT

 

I’m an excessive planner. A list maker. Always thinking ahead about the what ifs and all that needs to be done.

 

In Jesus Calling, Sarah Young calls that “a commonly practiced form of unbelief.” She goes on to say, “Just when you think you have prepared for all possibilities, something unexpected pops up and throws things into confusion.” 

 

Ouch! Ever been there? I have. More times than I can count. By trying to control the future, the only thing I ever accomplish is losing my peace.

 

In reality, we’re not meant to be in control or figure out the future. When we place our life in God’s hands, our responsibility is to trust Him and walk in step with Him one day, one moment at a time. As a popular song says, “there’s not a day ahead He has not seen.”

 

Psalm 37:3-7 gives us a simple formula: trust, delight, commit, rest. Now that’s a recipe for true peace.

 

I’m still a work in progress, but I’m learning to go with the flow—God’s flow.

 

How about you?

 

(Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net and Phil_Bird.)

 

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By excessive planning and trying to control the future, all we accomplish is losing our peace. via @AndreaMerrell (Click to tweet.)

 

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Dealing With Shades of Gray

By Andrea Merrell

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding;

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He shall direct your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV

I’m basically a black and white person, a proponent of the truth. I hate lies and pretense. My natural tendency is to avoid the gray areas as much as possible.

But is it really possible?

The absolute truth—as I have learned—is that not everything is either black or white. Life is full of gray areas that cannot be understood or explained. That’s precisely why we have to place our faith and complete trust in the Lord.

As Christians, the Bible is our ultimate source of truth, our guidebook for living. But even Scripture does not lay out all the answers to our questions in a neat little row. For me, this can be a bit disconcerting.

I’m the type of person who needs answers. I like to be prepared for any given situation, to know what’s going to happen. But God doesn’t work that way. He shows us what we need to know when we need to know it. He purposely keeps some answers out of our reach so we’ll seek Him and follow His lead.

Learning to be flexible and content to not know all the answers is hard, but doable. It's best to take one day at a time and accept the gray areas. When life throws us a curve, we can move on to Plan B. 

Unanswered questions are okay. Life is full of them, and we breathe easier and sleep better at night when we embrace that fact. The key is in trusting God with all our heart and making the most of each and every day … no matter what comes our way.

(Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net/gubgib/Stuart Miles.)

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Life's not black and white ... it's full of shades of gray. via @AndreaMerrell (Click to Tweet.) 

When life throws you a curve, move to Plan B. via @AndreaMerrell (Click to Tweet.)

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