Can You Trust God?

Untitled drawing (2)My young friend’s six-week-old son passed away. I remember her comment after he was born with a rare syndrome. “We did not expect any of this. It’s been very difficult.”

My heart breaks for her, and several other friends of mine, who are dealing with enormous difficulties they didn’t expect.

I wrestle in prayer for them. Search for words that will encourage them instead of sounding trite because I haven’t been in their shoes. I don’t assume to know what it’s like to watch your spouse’s decling health, have your husband serve you divorce papers, hear your two-year-old daughter has stomach cancer. Then again….

I didn’t expect to have three miscarriages when I was in my thirties.

My two previous pregnancies had been glitch free. Having children was a piece of cake or so I thought until I watched the ultra sound technician searching for the baby’s heartbeat inside my womb.

Prior to my miscarriages, I knew there were no guarantees in life. And yet, I felt shell shocked when the unexpected hit me.

  • Why is this happening?
  • What did I do wrong?
  • Why is God allowing this?

Man’s wisdom fell short. Scripture fell on deaf ears by my third miscarriage because I wanted what I wanted—another healthy baby cradled in my arms. Not this unexpected, empty womb that resembled a grave.

I grieved. I shook my fist at God. Griped about the fairness of life. Questioned God’s love for me. Sulked. Envied mothers with newborn babes.

My friends have shared, and I concur, that our faith is stretched during these difficult times. We’re driven to our knees in prayer. Sometimes we’re spiritually derailed.

What do you think? Is it the rare person who accepts their circumstances without a whimper? Or trusts God sovereignty in their lives without a question mark?

That’s why I love reading the Psalms which are emotionally-packed as King David grapples with his unexpected: the death of his first-born child by Bathsheba; the betrayal of his grown son Absalom.

However, even when David is “in distress, feels wasted from grief, his strength has failed, his body’s wasted, he feels like a broken vessel, his year is filled with sighing” David always seeks God as his refuge.

In Psalm 31, he….

Acknowledges God’s sovereignty.
Remembers God’s wonderful deeds.
Praises God for His goodness.
Trusts the Lord to guide him; trusts Him with his life.

I love how David admits in verse 22 that he felt “cut off from the Lord when he was alarmed” by his circumstances. However, David rises above his emotions to affirm what he knows:

The Lord sees his affliction.
Knows his troubles.
Heard his cry.

After everything he’s been through, David encourages the reader to love the Lord, be strong and courageous, and hope in the Lord.

That’s my prayer for my heartbroken friends even in this….

Author: Karen Foster

I'd like to say I've changed, but after decades of living, I still have the same four passions. My relationship with Jesus, spending time with family, attending live theater, and writing devotions & first-person stories about a loving, faithful God who reveals Himself in our every day circumstances.

4 thoughts on “Can You Trust God?”

  1. Well, since you asked…this goes to the “Question of Evil” which Christians generally have a difficult time dealing with and for which I have yet to receive a satisfactory answer. The argument goes like this:
    premise one: God is omnipotent. Nothing is unless He allows it to be.
    premise two: God is omni-benevolent. He wants no harm to come to anyone.
    premise three: Evil exists

    This is a contradiction. Evil can’t exist if God is both omnipotent and omni-benevolent. One of the three premises has to be false.

    I would be interested in hearing your answer to this conundrum, Karen.

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    1. Jimmye, the existence of evil and why an all-powerful, benevolent God, would allow His creation to suffer is a subject that stumps people and the argument Atheists use to disprove there’s a God.There are many books (including the Bible) that address this issue so it’s impossible for me to give a thorough answer in a comment section, but I will give you my best shot.
      First off, let’s just address the premises you mentioned.

      1)If God is omnipotent (all-powerful), He CAN defeat evil. True!
      2) If God is omni-benevolent (all-good), He WOULD defeat evil. True!
      3) Evil exists. True

      But don’t assume that evil will exist forever. One day, evil will be destroyed because the nature of God is all-powerful and all-good. He WILL defeat evil in the fulness of time.

      Jesus said, “In the world you have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33…..Jesus did not end evil in this world, but his death on the cross signaled its end. Until the elimination of evil, the cross removes the sting of evil’s consequences (Read 1 Corinthians 15:55-56). Through the cross, God demonstrates His love for mankind and provided a means to transform evil into good. Through the cross, He removes our sin and gives us His righteousness, and His resurrection provides us the certain hope that one day Christ will return to this earth and evil will be defeated once and for all.(Read Revelation 20:7-10)

      If you’re wondering WHY EVIL exist? Hard to shrink wrap this subject into a few sentences, but if you read Genesis (the first book of the Bible) you’ll see how God created the heavens and the earth, and that He repeatedly said, “It is good.” For there was no sin, no evil, no suffering in “the beginning.” Creation lost its innocence when man rebelled against their Creator. And that sin marked the onset of evil, suffering, toil and pain. (Gen. 3)

      SO WHY WOULD God allow even the possibility of evil? Because humans have free will. And the ability to love necessitates the ability to hate.
      God loves us and desires that we love Him and that we’d love one another. But humans love themselves, and want to have their own way. That rebellious mindset invites evil and its consequences including the wrath of God.

      However, “God demonstrated His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Because of the cross, we can have an intimate relationship with our Creator that provides us forgiveness and His righteousness. Christ gives us the hope of eternal life and the assurance that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose…One huge purpose is that God uses our suffering and pain to transform us into the image of His Son, Christ. (Romans 8:28-31) And in the process, God’s grace is sufficient to help us endure all things.

      Jimmye, I hope my answer resolved this conundrum. I could share a lot more on this subject, but I encourage you to read the Bible verses that I referenced (and pray as you read) for God’s wisdom to enlighten you on this subject. Particularly read, Ephesians 2:1-10 that addresses how we walk in disobedience, God’s mercy and love, and how we can receive His free gift of salvation through faith.”

      Blessings, Karen

      One

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      1. I will not let this devolve into a debate (although I easily could.) I asked for your take on the issue and you went out of your way to provide that. While there are plenty of issues we can (and will) discuss later, today I will simply say thank you for your answer and good day. 🙂

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