Have you ever had a time in your life when you felt like “If I could just get through this, everything will be easier?” and then you get through that one thing only to have something else block your path? I think if we are being honest, we all have!

In the last 11 months I have been dealt some things that if I had known were coming, I would have been shocked by. If I could have run away from them I would have sprinted. If I could have avoided them I would have taken a 1,000 mile detour. But I could not avoid them and I could not run. They were part of my story that God is writing for me.

Jeremiah 29:11 says this:  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Did you see that? HE KNOWS! He is not surprised by our trials or tribulations. (John 16:33) Whatever you are going through, be it big or small, it is part of His plan…and His plans are always good! Not evil, not meant to break you down, but to build you up. To grow your spiritual life and character so that you will know the blessing comes from Him alone. So that you can speak a word into someone else’s life when the same type of trouble visits their doorstep.

It is not easy to walk the path when it is strewn with rubble and rocks and rabble. A friend told me today that so often in our chaos we plead with God, begging for the blessings He has already promised as if He does not know our predicament. As if we are not His precious children. Instead we should approach as the writer of Hebrews 4:16 says “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. There is no need to be shy or to plead in fear that He will not answer. He is our Father and He wants to give us good things. Yet, we must accept that there may be struggle on the way to success. That overcoming temptation often means encountering trials.

So when you are taken surprise by the tumultuous events that toss you about, remember that your heavenly Father is still in control. He has not let go of you and He will carry you through it. Trusting the Lord is a lifelong lesson that I am just beginning to grasp. In each new test that has come upon me these last 11 months I have faltered, went back to my faith and found new strength to stand again.

I suspect I will still falter at times and that is okay. He is holding onto me so I will never completely lose my footing as long as I keep looking to Him.

 

Ammie Senn