Its A Choice...

Please pray for Megan Maxwell. She has been missing nearly 2 weeks now. Pray for her family.

Its difficult. I was talking with a friend who had lost a sister from a car accident with a drunk driver. He told me after that, he became so bitter and angry with God. At one point, he looked up to God and said, "If you are real, I hate you! What good can come of this?" He stayed bitter for over a year. Then, while visiting the friend of his sister, it happened. He question got answered in a profound way. This friend asked him, "What does it mean to be a Christian? To know Christ?" He had the opportunity to share the gospel with this woman, and she accepted Jesus Christ as her personal Savior!

As we talked, he said "I didn't want to praise God when my sister died." The truth is, non of us do. It is not a "natural" reaction. We want to focus on the problem. We want to try and "fix" it. When we can't, we feel helpless. Useless. We want to give up and loose hope. However, this is not what the Bible teaches us to do. Look at how Psalm 69 begins:

Save me, God, for the water has risen to my neck. I have sunk in deep mud, and there is no footing; I have come into deep waters, and a flood sweeps over me. I am weary from my crying; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God.

It is clear that the author, David, is hurting. As he cries out to God, he even says it seems as though he can not find God. He goes on to talk about all those against him, those who hate him without cause. David's reaction is to focus on the problem. Yet later in verses 29-30, David demonstrates what we should do:

But as for me—poor and in pain—let Your salvation protect me, God. I will praise God's name with song and exalt Him with thanksgiving.

Its not easy, but it is what we should do. This is perfectly stated in 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Give thanks in everything, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

We don't always understand God's plan, but one thing we can always understand and lean on is that He HAS a plan. Trust it. Even in our darkest hour.

In Christ,
jon walton