Trusting God With Our Happpily-Ever-Afters
Sometimes life doesn’t go the way we had always dreamed it would. Sometimes a scary diagnosis, a financial crisis, or a broken relationship can make an unwanted appearance and interrupt our happily ever after. Some seasons seem to heap bad upon bad upon worse and we wonder what happened to the good we want so desperately to remember. I have learned that life is never fully good, nor fully bad. It is a mixture. And where we place our trust makes all the difference.
We don’t have to hide our fears or disappointments from God. He promises to draw near to us when we share our burdens (Psalm 34:18). Hannah prayed and wept when she was deeply distressed (1 Samuel 1). After Job had pretty much the worst day ever, he worshiped in his mourning (Job 1). We see David’s outpouring of honest emotions repeatedly in the Psalms; “How long, O God, will You continue to forget me? How long will I continue to waste away in my sorrow?” (Psalm 13).God is present with us in our heartache and proves to be a steadfast anchor for our souls (Hebrews 6:19). He comes beside us in our weakness and makes us strong. He takes our confusion and places His hand upon us to steady us and bring our hearts rest.
We can vent our honest emotions with God when we trust Him. He promises to be our Rock that gives our feet a firm foundation even when life is shaking all around us (Psalm 18:2). When we are weary, we can bring our desires and brokenness to Him and lean on Him for understanding (Psalm 37:1-8). We may not always understand why God allows certain seasons in our lives, but we can be sure He has a plan. It may not be what we have always hoped for, but we can be confident that He has a purpose for the troubles we encounter. There are never accidents in God’s plans and purposes for us. He never shows up late or ill-prepared.
God can take our brokenness and unmet desires and replace them with His peace. After Hannah poured out her heart to God, her face was no longer sad. Even though Job mourned the incredible losses he faced, he trusted God’s hand. And after venting his sincere emotions and boldly asking for God to save him, David affirmed his trust in God’s character.
Our disappointments and disordered circumstances do not get to define us. They do not get to have the final word in our stories. God is working to bring about transformation in our hearts as we begin to truly understand what it means to trust Him in all things. And it is in this trust, that we experience His joy despite the difficulties we face (James 1).
I have found that the blessings in life may not resemble what we always imagined them to be, but God’s grace pours down into all the nooks and crannies of our broken desires and spurs us on to keep clinging to Him. This is true joy that isn’t based upon our circumstances going happily the way we’d like, but trusting that God is trustworthy and that He is working out His perfect plan in our lives.
