In Times of Adversity

Every single one of us has been through something tough. Because of these hardships every single one of us has questioned Gods love and power. Through my times of trial I have realized we must understand why we must suffer these times in order to be able to overcome them.
Sin has been on earth as long as the first people have been. As soon as sin started so did suffering. God was ultimately in control of Adam & eves fall but he allowed them to sin. Why? So we would be capable of loving Him. If we were created to be Gods puppets, unable to choose sin, our love for him wouldn't be voluntary. And if love is involuntary its not love at all.
I don't know if any of you are parents but sometimes we allow our kids to make mistakes. As hard as it is, we watch it happen. I allow my kids to do this because I know that if I rescue them from everything they wont be very successful when they're older. Similarly a lot of times we create our own suffering because of our own sinful choices. If the lord tried to rescue us from these actions in order to prevent our suffering we never would develop into mature believers.
As believers in Christ we will always have an enemy. Unfortunately our enemy is very strong, sometimes stronger than us, and we will always be under attack by him. Satan is out to destroy our lives and our testimonys, making us weak and useless for God.
Ultimately God is in charge of all adversity that comes our way. To deny His involvement contradicts His Power and sovereignty over creation.
For us to accept that God allows, and even sends afflictions we must see adversity His way. As believers were assured that no adversity comes our way unless He can use it to achieve His good purposes.
Reading:
Isaiah 45:5-10
Reflect:
Is your focus on the pain of the experience or the Lord and His faithfulness?
Next time you feel Gods not there do you feel these points may help you?

Psalm 139:1-24

Psalm is definitely one of my favorite chapters in the bible, and I think that Psalm 139:1-24 is one of my favorite scriptures. The main idea's in this scripture are..
1. God knows everything about you.
2. There is nothing you can do to hide from Him.
3. He is always there for you, no matter what.
Psalm 7 states, "Where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast." There is no where or anything that will ever hide you from God. He can always see you. He is always there- whether you want him to be or not.
Psalm 4 says, "Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord." God knows everything you're going to say, everything you do say, even a thought in your head. This makes me a little nervous.. what if I think a bad thought? God can see that. But in reality, God can see & hear everything.
Reading: Psalm 139:1-24
Reflecting:
-Does it comfort you knowing that you can never hide from God?
-How do you feel knowing that God knows everything you are going to say, before you do?
-Write down an example in the past week how you exhibited a worried attitude and how knowing that God is always there, helped you over come that.

Death

Death has been weighing heavily on my heart lately. Yesterday, I got word that my friend's baby girl passed away. She was 7 months old and had a severe asthma attack & a collapsed lung. I've been thinking- why? Why her? It doesn't seem fair. I know though that God has a plan.
In Psalm 139:16, "Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." This is comforting to me, knowing that God has every day written out for us. No amount of worrying, or anything can change that.
We have to know and trust that God has a greater plan for us. God's plan is the best plan. We may not like the things He does, but He knows best. We have to trust in God. Even when times are tough. Even when we feel like He's not "there". He always is.. and he always will be.
Reading: Psalm 139:16; Psalm 147:3; John 14:1-3
Reflecting:
-How do you feel knowing that there is nothing about you that is not written out in God's book?
-When tragedy strikes, do you feel comfort knowing that God is in control?
-When something bad happens, do you take comfort in knowing that God is there? Or do you feel like God "disappeared"?