Questioning God's Goodness in the Midst of Hard Things

I am the queen of pity parties when things don’t go according to my plans. The last time that I dived down into my self-induced pit of despair, I really wanted to be mad at God.  How could He let such things happen to me?  Doesn’t He love me anymore?

Have you ever had this type of dialogue between yourself and God? Over the years I’ve learned that in times of adversity I am forced to become utterly dependent upon the Lord and His strength.  In fact, the hardships we face are often instruments used to bring us to this point.

What does the Bible have to say about difficult, challenging situations in our lives? James tells us to consider it joy when we encounter various trials. Why? Because the testing of our faith produces endurance (James 1:2). 

Endurance isn’t a word that surfaces often in my vocabulary. To have endurance is to suffer through the trials patiently. I don’t know about you, but when I am in the midst of a trial, I just want to get through it quickly. And I certainly don’t consider at the time what the situation could be teaching me or how it could be changing me for the better.

I find great comfort in the fact that God sees it all; He knows how things are going to end and while it may seem bleak to us, the future is not dark to Him! We know all of these truths as believers, so why do we continue question God and His goodness in the midst of hard things?  We question God when our hearts are not lined up with His.

“Therefore we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen in temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

God doesn’t ask us to act as though our problems do not exist.  He asks us to trust and endure the process, knowing that He works everything out for our good. We can rest assured that the trials of this life are temporary. 

          Perhaps the hardships of life that you wish you didn’t have to face, are your opportunity to see the rescuing,

redeeming, enabling, power of God working in you and through you.  May we endure well.