Trust in the Lord Even When You Hurt

It can be hard to trust in the Lord when you feel like your life is falling apart.

Bad things happen.

• A car plows into your vehicle and sends you to the hospital.
• Your spouse says he or she has had an affair.
• A friend is given a cancer diagnosis.
• Your teenager is addicted to drugs.

These are huge wake-up calls and this small list doesn’t even cover what some of your friends and family may be going through.

It hurts a lot sometimes.

In my own family, there’s divorce, the loss of a child, the loss of a job, health concerns, and atheism.

Difficult questions come to mind when you wake up and get some bad news.

Where are you, God?

Don’t You care about me?

What did I do to deserve this?

When Did Life Get So Out of Control?

The hard fact is, no one ever promised us an easy life without cares and concerns. In the book of James 1:2-4, Scripture tells us that we’ll experience various trials.

Notice that the word “trials” is in its plural form.

And yet, we are still told to trust Him.

There was no exception to that command.

The Bible doesn’t say, “Trust in the Lord, except when __________(fill in the blanks with your particular circumstance.)

Is unshakeable trust in God an easy thing to have?

We’d like to think so, but not always. We’re not perfect. We have the very human, knee jerk, “fix it now” mentality and can rush headlong into finding a quick solution, all the while forgetting to pray and ask God for His strength and guidance to see us through.

Always Remember, He Loves Us

The wonderful truth is that God loves you. Nothing or no one can take that away from you. You are His child.

He knows your past, present, and future. For His reasons alone, He allows certain things to take place in our lives.

God may appear to be silent at times, but you and me have to trust Him and that means in good times and in bad. If we pray or even talk to Him quietly in our thoughts, He will listen.

A Christian Perspective From Georgia

I asked a good friend of mine about her favorite Bible verse. Kim M. from Georgia chose Proverbs 3:5-6.

*Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make straight your paths.

Here’s what Kim had to say about why this verse means so much to her:

“Our understanding and logic is not the same as God’s. We work hard to put things in a way that seems logical to us, only to find that there is always that piece or something that is missing. With God, He can see the whole picture so there are no missing pieces. If we place God in charge instead of us trying to be in charge, all of the pieces will fall into place, in accordance to His will and His timing. Trust God completely.”

That is so true.

Learning to Cope

How can you learn endurance to get through the hard times? There are a lot of options.

• Pray. God is listening.
  
• You can read and memorize Scripture, especially the verses that encourage you the most.
• You can listen to some great Christian music. I have links to some great contemporary artists on this website.
• You can attend a Men or Women’s Bible study. Once there, you can meet some of the most amazing people who have struggles of their own. The friendships often become lifelong.
• You can help someone less fortunate than yourself. As sad as you may feel about some of your own trials, there’s always someone who is worse off than you. That will help with your perspective.
  
• Lastly, you can get together with some of your Christian friends. You can lift each other up with support and love. Some day, all Christians will be in Heaven together where there is no more suffering and sadness.

That will be a very happy day.

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*Bible reference: English Standard Version. The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.