“So the Lord must wait for you to come to Him so He can show you His love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for His help.” (Isaiah 30:18 NLT)
God never fails! Man, and machines fail, but God never does. The Psalmist captures the heart of the matter when he writes in Psalm 111:1-4: “Praise the Lord! I will thank the Lord with all my heart as I meet with His godly people. How amazing are the deeds of the Lord! All who delight in Him should ponder them. Everything He does reveals His glory and majesty. His righteousness never fails. He causes us to remember His wonderful works. How gracious and merciful is our Lord!”
Why do we worry and fret? Is anything too hard for God? When the Lord told Abraham that his elderly wife, far beyond the normal years of conception, would become pregnant, Sarah laughed. In Genesis 18:12 the Bible says: “So she laughed silently to herself and said, ‘How could a worn-out old woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my master – my husband – is also so old?’”
It was in that context that the Lord said in verse 14: “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” with the clear implication: ABSOLUTELY NOT! So, again I ask: “Why do we worry and fret about the problems we face in our life?” Of course, life is hard, God never promised us it wouldn’t be. In John 15 and 16 Jesus outlines the reason life, especially for those who love Him, will be stressful and hard – because we are not greater than our Master.
Jesus’ life was hard once He declared who He was and began to speak and live the truth, and it will be for us when our whole life’s orientation is to be like Jesus. I don’t know the Author, but one of the entries in my calendar devotional said: “The greenest grass is found wherever the most rain falls. So I suppose it is the fog and mist of Ireland that makes it ‘the Emerald Isle.’ And wherever you find the widespread fog of trouble and the mist of sorrow, you always find emerald green hearts that are full of the beautiful foliage of the comfort and love of God.”
The very reason for the troubles of our life isn’t to make us bitter, but to make us better – more like Jesus than we’d ever be if life was easy and we never faced adversity. Yes, of course, it’s too hard for us; otherwise, there’d be no need for faith. Why lean on God if we can handle it ourselves? Life can be tragic, painful, debilitating, but that’s life – EVERYONE faces those kinds of challenges.
It’s not the fact we face hardships and trials that’s the issue, it’s that we can face them with faith, confidence that our pain isn’t random or apart from the notice of God. The Lord is faithful and will NEVER leave us without His comforting presence. In the hardest, most heart-wrenching seasons of my life, though there were times I felt isolated, alone, forgotten, the Lord ALWAYS let me know I wasn’t.
Emerald green hearts don’t “grow” in the sunshine, only in the rain, fog, and mist of suffering, heartache, and pain. If this life was all there was we’d be among all mankind most to be pitied for our “worthless” faith, but this life is NOT the end and God WILL have the final word on our pain.
None of us knows what the future holds, except we know it’s good for those who know, love, and are seeking with all their heart to serve the Lord Jesus. Though our body is weak and can give out, our faith is strong and vibrant, knowing our living God is in control and that He NEVER FAILS!
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 