We have a God who shows up. He is dependable and worthy of being trusted. He does not disappoint! We may have experiences where things don’t happen the way we plan, but that doesn’t mean God was not in it with you.
I think of various past jobs opportunities I applied for that did not pan out. I was pretty far into the interview process with some of them and was pretty sure I would be hired. At the time, I would find myself feeling bad about not receiving the job offer. However, looking back I am very thankful each of these opportunities did not work out like I wanted them to at the time.
I am now thankful that each of these rejections took place because the jobs that I held after them were far superior. Maybe the rejections took place to humble me or to show me how much better the job that I would later have was, I cannot say. What I can say however is that what I did not see at the time was that God was in those moments even though I did not feel great about them.
I have now come to expect God to show up in my life in every circumstance. He is never not working! He is always bringing good out of all things for those who love Him! This understanding of reality has made my life fuller and more exciting.
When we expect God to be at work in every moment, we can trust that we will be okay regardless of what happens. There is always hope for peace and happiness, which is what we truly want more than anything anyway. God is in every moment, and so we will have everything we need in every moment.
The difficulty truly lies with our remembering this truth while we look ahead to the mystery of what will happen. Every circumstance lies before us shrouded in darkness. We simply do not know how things will play out, which can make us afraid or anxious.
When we live our lives expecting God to show up, we will still have the inability to know what will happen, however, we will know God will be there. God will do what He does to lead us through those future moments to better know Him. Regardless of what happens, we can trust God.
Last fall, I loved to joke with my wife by telling her that every Atlanta Braves’ win during the 2021 World Series was the best day of my life. Honestly, since I grew up in Atlanta, it was a very exciting time for me. I had been waiting a long time since their last championship win in 1995. The best part of this past years’ experience however, was sharing the victory with my kids.
The games always went late, so I didn’t let my kids stay up to watch. Instead, I would record the games and play them the next day for my children to watch. It was fun for all of us! I noticed how much easier it was for me to bear the moments when the Braves were not doing so well. I knew they would come back and win a certain game.
I saw in this the same security we can have as we go through moments when it seems like we are not doing so well. Even though we might not be doing so great in each moment, if we stay close to Jesus and trust in Him, we will come out on top. Knowing this makes every bad thing occurring in life much easier to bear.
Yes, we might not know exactly how things will end up, but Jesus does. He has seen your whole life. He is not inside of time like we are. It might sound crazy, but God has already binge-watched all 3,000 seasons of human history and knows your life intimately.
Therefore, God knows every problem you will have and has every solution you need. He knows what you need and what is best for you. Even more, He keeps things from you that can hurt you.
In this way, we can trust that God is always showing up for us. Everything that we go through, if we seek to please Him and put the situation in His hands, it will end well for us. God does not fail. If you seek His help in your life, He will come through to help you. We just need to understand sometimes we do not get what we want in order to get what is best for us.
This means in every choice you must make, every conversation, every temptation, or every opportunity, God is with you seeking to lead you in that moment to give you what is best for you. And with the Lord, life may not always feel good, but it will always be good. Remember this and you will have a deeper, more satisfying life.
Your perspective on your experiences will change from an insecurity to confidence. If you have a bad circumstance, you change your thinking from “Why did this happen to me?” to “this must be happening FOR me.” Everything becomes an opportunity for you growing closer to the Lord and being happy!
Believe you are not alone, and God is showing up for you. God’s love language is trust and if you give Him your trust, He will not disappoint you. He will blow you out of the water by how much He can surpass your expectations!
