We've all been there, beaten to the ground by the continuous waves that life throws our way. We've all sat there in the middle of the storm and thought "Where is God now? Did He forget about me? Does he even love me?" You may be in that season of your life right now and all you can ask is why. "Why is this happening? Why isn't God helping?" or even "Why did I do that? Why am I the way that I am? If you are in that stage right now, remember a few things.
1. Rethink What Love Truly Is
So often we have this predetermined idea of how God is supposed to love us and what love truly is. We think that in order to truly be loved by God, we need everything to go our way, get everything we want, and have no issues doing so. God's love is so different, and so much better. 1 John 4:10 says, "This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins," You think God doesn't love you? He sent His only Son to die a brutal death just so YOU could have a relationship with Him. He did that all just for you! God, in Jeremiah 29, says His plans are to prosper you, not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. He continues by saying that when you call on Him, He will listen. You will seek after Him and you will find Him. God is not distant, He isn't silent, and He listens. God is there when you need Him. He listens and He shows up. THAT is what God's love truly is.
2. There is Purpose in Pain
I'm not going to undermine your situation. You could be going through things right now that nobody else could even imagine stepping into. I am so sorry for that hurt and pain that you are feeling. A man named James wrote in a letter once how the pain, suffering, and persecution that he goes though brings him pure joy. Hearing that, my first thought is "this dude is a psycho!" It isn't until I truly think and ponder on it that the truth of it begins to sink in. He continues to say that when we have faith in the trials that we face, they produce perseverance. That perseverance grows into maturity and in that maturity, we lack nothing. When we hit a brick wall over and over and over again, we will eventually learn how to brace for the impact and turn it for good. Stubbing a toe seems to not hurt as bad when we have faced what feels like life and death. God wants to use the hard times to mature you into the man or woman you are meant to be. He makes good what was intended for evil, He brings beauty out of ashes, and He turns graves into gardens.
3. If You're Not Dead, God's Not Done
Until the moment that you breathe your last breath, there is purpose, hope, and redemption available to you. At any moment in your life, you can turn to God and He will redeem you, save you, and protect you. A lot of us are bound by the chains of shame and think that God wouldn't love us if He knew who we truly are. Listen closely for a moment, no matter who you are, what you have done, or what has been done to you, God loves YOU. There is no where you can go, nothing you can do to make you our of reach from God's love. The Apostle Paul killed thousands upon thousands of Christian but when he turned to God and God's love, He was right there to meet him right where he was. You are not too far gone, there is hope. Seek and you will find, ask and He will answer. He is the prince of Peace, the provider of joy, and in your faith, you can have rest in Him.
You are everything to God.
