There have been so many things that have been going through my mind. I would say of late, but it's not a new thing. However, there are tons of new things filling up the space. And some old things.
I would love to sit down with you or another friend every day to talk through all these things, but alas, work and family and other aspects of life won't allow it. So, the next best thing, I figured, is to get it out one paper. Well, computer. (Although I am a big fan of still hand-writing things.)
The main question is where to start. As I ponder this, I think the best place to start is where we should end up.
Trusting God.
A recent conversation with an old friend - a friend I had in childhood and hadn't seen in 30 years - covered many topics. After all, we had 30 years to catch up on!
But one theme continued to rise to the top - no matter what, we can trust God.
When things are tough - and tough doesn't seem a strong enough word for many of the situations, events, and circumstances we talked about - we can trust God.
We can trust that He is good. Always has been. Always will be.
When we lose someone in tragic circumstances, God is still good.
When we experience a life-altering diagnosis, God is still good.
When we experience and remember trauma, God is still good.
When we have chronic pain, God is still good.
When we don't know why something has happened, God is still good.
None of these things mean we have perfect understanding or that we don't question, grieve, hurt, and get angry. No. Instead, it means we take all or our questions and feelings to the Lord of the universe who is full of mercy, grace, compassion, and is love itself.
We won't figure it all out. We'll never know truly if a different choice would have made a life-altering difference. Life-saving difference.
That tempts me to lead into a topic that has cropped up time and time again, but I will save it for anther day.
It all boils down to if God is who He says He is, then we can have peace regardless of our circumstances.
As I said above, that doesn't mean we don't have negative emotions, but that in the midst of the storms of life we don't lose our peace.
Before closing, I'll add that peace doesn't necessarily come naturally. It's supernatural. It's a Holy Spirit in us thing. A fight against our enemy who wants us anxious, worried, and upset thing. A go to God over and over and over again thing. A stand on His Word as truth thing. A keep-our-eyes-fixed-on-Jesus-and-eternal-things thing.
So, no matter what you're facing today, take it to the Lord and trust Him with it. Ask questions. Express your real feelings. Listen to Him. And let go.
And with that, hopefully, a new season of talking about the issues of life will commence.
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