What To Do When Life Kicks You in the Groin
"When God seem distant, you may feel he is angry with you.... It is a test of faith -- one we all must face: Will you continue to love, trust, obey, and worship God, even when you have no sense of his presence or visible evidence of his work in your life?" -- The Purpose-Driven Life (http://purposedriven.com/books/pdlbook/)
God at this moment is testing someone very close to me. Such tests are part of life, I'm sorry to say. Certainly, God was testing me when I was drinking and wouldn't stop -- over and over and over.
I flunked. Again and again and.... I had to keep repeating the same class, like an unrepentant school boy.
It's my life, I thought, and no one will stop me if I want to drink. Not even God. If there is a God. I had my doubts.
At last, I passed His test, and I pass it every day, one day at a time.
My aforementioned friend faces a different kind of test of faith. Alcohol isn't involved, but similar life-changing decisions are. I pray for her every day, but I pray even harder today that she will have faith and pass her God-given test with greater strength than I had for so long.
Another piece of The Purpose-Driven Life: "(God) has promised repeatedly, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' But God has not promised 'you will always feel my presence.' In fact, God admits that sometimes he hides his face from us. There are times when he appears to be MIA, missing-in-action, from your life."
I used to think, "Hello? God? Where did you go? Why did you leave me to face my alcohol troubles alone?"
However: "To mature your friendship (with God), God will test it with periods of seeming separation -- times when it feels as if he has abandoned or forgotten you.... St. John of the Cross referred to these days of spiritual dryness, doubt, and estrangement from God as 'the dark night of the soul.' Henri Nouwen called them 'the ministry of absence.' A. W. Tozer called them 'the ministry of the night.' Others refer to the 'winter of the heart.'"
The point is, these times plague us all. That's the bad news. The good news is that God never really leaves us -- even though I left Him for a time when I faced alcohol addiction. God tests all of us over and over. We may hate the lesson, but don't blame the teacher.
Glad to say I have a really big "but:"
"...God wants you to pass the tests of life, so he never allows the tests you face to be greater than the grace he gives you to handle them.... (A)t the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out. Every time you pass a test, God notices...."
I love you, my dear friend. We both know that God loves you too, even though sometimes we have our doubts. Trust Him that your life will be better than it is today. Just as He used my crisis to make my life better, I have faith He will do the same for you.
God at this moment is testing someone very close to me. Such tests are part of life, I'm sorry to say. Certainly, God was testing me when I was drinking and wouldn't stop -- over and over and over.I flunked. Again and again and.... I had to keep repeating the same class, like an unrepentant school boy.
It's my life, I thought, and no one will stop me if I want to drink. Not even God. If there is a God. I had my doubts.
At last, I passed His test, and I pass it every day, one day at a time.
My aforementioned friend faces a different kind of test of faith. Alcohol isn't involved, but similar life-changing decisions are. I pray for her every day, but I pray even harder today that she will have faith and pass her God-given test with greater strength than I had for so long.
I used to think, "Hello? God? Where did you go? Why did you leave me to face my alcohol troubles alone?"
However: "To mature your friendship (with God), God will test it with periods of seeming separation -- times when it feels as if he has abandoned or forgotten you.... St. John of the Cross referred to these days of spiritual dryness, doubt, and estrangement from God as 'the dark night of the soul.' Henri Nouwen called them 'the ministry of absence.' A. W. Tozer called them 'the ministry of the night.' Others refer to the 'winter of the heart.'"
The point is, these times plague us all. That's the bad news. The good news is that God never really leaves us -- even though I left Him for a time when I faced alcohol addiction. God tests all of us over and over. We may hate the lesson, but don't blame the teacher.Glad to say I have a really big "but:"
"...God wants you to pass the tests of life, so he never allows the tests you face to be greater than the grace he gives you to handle them.... (A)t the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out. Every time you pass a test, God notices...."
I love you, my dear friend. We both know that God loves you too, even though sometimes we have our doubts. Trust Him that your life will be better than it is today. Just as He used my crisis to make my life better, I have faith He will do the same for you.
this post reminds me of a song refrain that helped me through a tough time... "When you don't move the mountains I'm needing you to move, When you don't part the waters I wish I could walk through....... I will trust in You."
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