How do we get through the storms of life? When I think about the future, and the potential for terrible things to happen, it causes me a bit of anxiety. When I consider what some people have been through, I wonder how they possibly made it. I don’t think I would have. As Christians, how can we know that when things fall apart, we’ll make it? Do we smile and tell each other it will all be okay? Do we try to convince ourselves that ‘God won’t give me anything that I can’t handle’? Or perhaps dream about a future point in our life when this particular trial has ended?

I have bad news for you: God doesn’t promise to always get you through your physical circumstances. There’s no promise in Scripture that you will get through this family crisis. There’s no promise that your rebellious child will return to you in love and forgiveness. There’s no promise of financial peace, or even good health. Unfortunately, God does not promise to make everything better in this life. Sometimes, bad things happen and they stay bad…for a long time. Maybe even your entire life. Consider Israel, and their never ending cycle of rebellion and exile. Sometimes, Israel was in harsh captivity for hundreds of years before receiving deliverance from Yahweh. That’s multiple generations of misery. Hundreds of thousands of people died without ever seeing the “light at the end of the tunnel”.

Will God make the painful circumstances go away? Maybe. Certainly there are countless stories of God working in powerful ways to heal wounds on this side of heaven. I’ve heard testimonies of God providing for financial needs when all was hopeless or bringing about physical healing that seemed impossible. God does work and move in the lives of His people even today, and sometimes that manifests itself through restoration in this life.
But sometimes, it doesn’t. Sometimes it may feel as if God has abandoned you in your pain. And while I can assure you that God has not abandoned you, I cannot assure you that God will deliver you from the pain.
What, then, are we to do? How can I have peace and joy in this life if I cannot be certain that the pain will stop before I go home to be with the Lord?

The powerful hymn, “It is Well With My Soul”, sheds light on the answer.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul

Why is it well with my soul? Why do I have peace? Not because “everything’s going to be okay”. Rather, because of the precious blood of my Savior shed for me. The world is a harsh place. It can take a lot from you. It can take your reputation, your home, your health, your intellect, your money, your honor, your friends, your family, and even your own life. The world can really take everything from you…but it cannot take your God from you. Cling to Him with all that you are. When your hope is rooted solely in who Christ is and what He’s done for you on the cross, you will never be hopeless. My sin is nailed to the cross, and the truth of that statement will never change. That simple truth gives me a joy that will last an eternity! Praise the Lord, O my Soul!

Consider the words of this song, “Satisfied in You (Psalm 42)”:

Let my sighs give way to songs that sing about your faithfulness
Let my pain reveal your glory as my only real rest
Let my losses show me all I truly have is you

Let my losses show me all I truly have is You. Powerful words, even if they are painful on the surface. In the end, all we have is Jesus. But we truly have Him. Truly, deeply, and eternally He is ours. He purchased us with His blood (1 Peter 1:17-19), and has secured us with His Spirit (Eph. 1:13-14). The most precious gift we could ever have is one that cannot be taken. Christ.

I hope the Lord delivers you from your painful circumstances. I truly pray that He stops the pain and suffering. Don’t stop crying out to Him for deliverance. Believe that He will answer your prayer. But know that even if that answer is not what you want it to be, your salvation is secure in Christ. It is well with your soul.

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“My soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; so I say, ‘My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the Lord.’ Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in Him.’ – Lamentations 3:24

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unsplash-logoJasper van der Meij