Have you ever wondered how you can trust God in the midst of pain and suffering?
I remember one particular season in my life when I was going through so much pain physically and emotionally. I wondered if the God I thought I believed in when I was younger was even really there. Why would God allow this suffering to happen if he is really in control? Like many, I struggled with believing if God is really good and if he even cared about what I was going through. During the end of this one particularly painful season, I decided that for three days I would read my Bible and try to pray. I said, "God, if you're real then you're gonna have to change me, because there is nothing in me that likes what I'm going through or likes the fact that you're in control."
So for three days I read and prayed. A week passed and I continued to read and pray. And over the period of about ten days, God totally changed me. Instead of seeing God through the eyes of my circumstances, I began to see him for who he really is. I confessed my selfish heart to God, and asked God to help me be like his selfless Son Jesus. A peace started to grow in my heart and hasn't left since, and God started to put in my heart desires that weren't there before...to thirst and hunger to know who God truly is, to read my Bible to satisfy that thirst, to pray knowing that God was listening and caring, to be with other born-again Christians, and encourage others. These were things I know were not there before. God changed me and has continued to change me since.
Where did I read in the Bible? To be honest, I can't remember exactly because I read its books from all over. I'm sure I read Job, Romans, 1 John, 2 Corinthians, and others. The truths found in these books and more are clearly laid out in Jerry Bridges book Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts. I read this book about a year after my struggle described above, and found it to be a huge help in re-encouraging me to continue to trust God even though my circumstances still hadn't changed.
- Are you struggling through a difficult time?
- Are you depressed with what's going on around you?
- Are you mad at God for giving you something or taking something away?
- Do you know someone who is hurting?
- Want to be ready for when "real life" hits you?
Grab your Bible and Bridges's book and a pencil. As you read through Trusting God, underline and take notes in the book and look up passages in the Bible to understand the context of the verses Bridges uses.
It's been a huge help to me and others whom I know have read it.
So please take the time to understand what God wants you to know about Himself.
–Hummingbird
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