How to Trust God During Hard Times in Life
Years ago I had breast cancer. I went to the doctor for a routine checkup, which included a mammogram, and several days later I was admitted to the hospital for surgery. It was a hard time.
Here I was, teaching about faith and praying for sick people to be healed, and I got sick.
I wondered why this happened.
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I remember God speaking to my heart not to get caught up in the "why" questions. Instead, He very clearly showed me what to say: "God, I trust You. You're good. You love me. And all things work together for good for those who love You and are called according to Your purpose."
Fortunately, the surgery was a great success! In fact, the doctors were confident they caught it at such an early stage that I didn't have to go through radiation treatments or chemotherapy.
I still don't know why I had to go through this, but I do know that God is good. He can take anything the devil does to harm us and work it out for our good and for the good of other people.
Most people go through times when they wonder why, when or what. "Why did that happen?" "When will I ever get what I want?" "What in the world is going on in my life?!"
Have you ever asked these questions?
I've learned that before we can be content and satisfied, we have to get to the point where we don't have to understand everything. Sometimes we need to decide to be satisfied not knowing some of the answers. Why? Because really trusting God requires having some unanswered questions in your life.
To trust God, you have to know Him. There was a time in my life when I only knew how to talk about God, but now I know Him. And here's what I know…
• God is all-powerful
• God is all-knowing
• God is awesome and mighty
• God is good and He's on my side
• God loves me!
If I had chosen to hold on to my questions and demand an explanation for all of the unfair and hard things I've had to go through, I wouldn't have been able to develop a relationship with God that helped me to really know who He is and trust Him.
I believe a lot of people can identify with this struggle. Maybe you're in it right now, wondering why good things happen to bad people or why bad things happen to good people. The world is full of situations that are hard to understand and just not right.
Let It Go and Go On with God
My dad abused me for about fifteen years when I was growing up. I remember praying and asking God to rescue me. I didn't understand why He didn't get me out of that situation, and for years I was bitter about it.
But I discovered that my bitterness was creating a rift between me and God, keeping me from progress in my relationship with Him. And He is what I really needed. He is the healer of wounded souls and bodies and the restorer of what's been lost in our lives.
Romans 12:21 says, "Do not let yourself be overcome by evil, but overcome (master) evil with good" (The Amplified Bible). Don't let the enemy ruin your life because you don't understand why… Don't spend so much time trying to figure out why things didn't happen and then forget all the great things God has done.
It's time to let go of the stuff you don't understand that's coming between you and God. Get rid of that rift. Trust God totally and decide that even though you don't understand some things that have happened, it doesn't change the character of God.
God is good, just, righteous and holy. He's bigger than your questions, and there's nothing He can't fix. No problem is too much for Him. He loves you more than you'll ever know. And He's got a good plan for you. That's the truth you can trust!
