Bible Verse of the day Friday February 2nd, 2024

Hebrews 13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

For all followers and believers in Christ Jesus, it is sometimes easier to serve, worship, and be grateful to God when we are on the mountaintop when things are going well for us. We have a good job; we can pay all the bills, we are healthy, and we have brothers and sisters in Christ who encourage us. Our families are growing spiritually. Praising the Lord for how He works in our lives is much easier in these times of comfort.

But how do we respond to God at our lowest points in life? How do we respond to the suffering, sorrow, heartache, financial hardship, temptation, sin, and death that He allows to come upon us and our families as His children? It may be hard to feel blessed by the Lord at these times. It may be hard to thank and praise Him for His goodness and kindness towards us in Christ. As James says in chapter 1 of his epistle, we should consider it pure joy when we go through these trials of life.

But the fact is, God is on His throne just as much during these times as when things are going well. The God of the mountain tops of our lives is also the God of the Valleys. He is working, no matter how hard that may be to believe. We must get it firm into our minds that if we are God's people, nothing happens to us that God does not control; these trying times only happen because God permits them to happen.

So why do these things happen? Why does God allow them, and how is God working in them? These are questions that the people of God have asked for thousands of years. Job, David, Asaph in Psalm 73, and so many others have asked these questions, including you and I. And the truth is that we don't know precisely how God works in us when we go through trying times. It is usually not till months or sometimes years later that we can see how God has been advantageous in our lives. This makes it challenging and sometimes demanding for all followers and believers in Christ Jesus as we suffer and endure trials.

Suffering brings purification. And when we think about it, we must remember that without suffering, you and I would be without hope of eternal life. The trials and suffering of our Lord Jesus bring to those who obey the Gospel a purification and cleansing like none other! Scripture makes it clear that God can sympathize with us about suffering. No one can say, God, you do not understand what I am going through! You haven't been where I am.". Christ, God in the flesh, endured the torture of scourging and crucifixion for our good. The Father had to watch as His Precious Son endured these things for us. We don't have the right to say that God does not understand because He does understand and has endured such things at the hands of sinful humanity so we can have hope.