When I am engaged in hand-to-hand combat with disappointment, disillusionment, and the like it seems I often encounter a well-meaning person who tells me that if I will trust God I can live above my circumstances. And on that person’s heels comes another who exhorts me that God takes care of His own. And then there is someone who espouses that God has brought these difficulties into my life to teach me to trust Him.  Uh, huh. I’m sorry, but I’m not buying these perspectives.

Trusting God does not magically extract me from whatever wasteland I’m wandering through. And if circumstances are an accurate indicator of what God thinks of me, then in these tumultuous times I must conclude He doesn’t think too highly of me. Further, while God will do what is necessary to get my attention, I am not being hard hearted nor hammer headed. I’m paying attention!

No, the majority of the difficulties you and I encounter can be attributed to living in a fallen and imperfect world. Is God engaged in your world, and is He concerned about the state of your soul? Absolutely! And He never wastes any opportunity to point you toward His heart or to reveal the deep desires of your heart to you.

If you deny that you are experiencing a hard time, or make the mistake of discounting your soul’s struggle, you potentially rob yourself of seeing the depth and magnificence of Father’s grace and provision. Our forefathers in the faith struggled mightily, sensed God’s heart in the midst of their mess, and faithfully and honestly shared their stories with us. Why should we not emulate them?