~God is God and I am not~

I'm sure most of us are familiar with the phrase "God is good". A phrase that at times just rolls off of our tongues without truly being significant in our hearts. It is, of course, easy to utter these words during the times of certainty and harvest. It is another matter all together, however, to utter these words when we are uncertain, scared, or in a state of brokenness and pain. Lately, I have been in a time of waiting. This “waiting” covers SO many things: direction, a job, and relationships, just to name a few. I’m sure many of you can name at least one thing you are currently waiting on. Isn’t it interesting that in a world of uncertainty there always seems to be something to wait on? It is something I literally have to stop myself from obsessing about! It is hard when you're not sure and the things you thought would bring you security are taken out from under you. It is in these times that our faith and trust truly gets tested. It is also at these times we finally realize our only true security lies within Christ. We have the choice to believe that indeed God is good, that he will withhold NO good thing from us and that his plan is not to harm us. This is a truth that I, personally, have to repeat to myself every day. The enemy constantly seems to whisper lies that God is holding out on me and "what if's" surround me. If we have no truth to fight it with we sink and are choked with worry and obsessive thoughts. This is NOT how God intended it to be. It astonishes me how I vary from day to day emotionally. This is a sure fire sign that we cannot trust the constant over flow of emotions that bombard us day by day. The truth of His goodness has nothing to do with our circumstances or what may or may not happen in our lives. He is goodness itself and there is no darkness in Him! What an incredibly alien concept when we live in a world where we constantly let each other down and fight within ourselves. It is overwhelming to realize we will never be parted from Christ and his will for our lives is the BEST that can be! Even though we will go through dark times we have the light of the world walking right beside us holding our hand. How easy it is to forget this! True Peace and Joy are things that are not possible without Christ in our lives and these fruits inevitably flow from trust. The issue of trust is another loaded concept when we compare to the human equivalent of the word. Over and over, I’m sure; most of us have had circumstances in which our trust has been broken. Broken trust can be one of the most painful things to experience. It breaks a person to the core and to put it in very simplified terms shakes our hearts in a violent way. I plead you not to harden your heart when these things occur. By putting up a defense we not only keep hurt out, we keep love out as well. You are a miracle and God will complete the good work he has started in your life! How wonderful to know Christ will NEVER betray our trust, that in putting our trust in him we will never be let down or hurt. This is not to say difficult times will not arise but, rather, to say when they do we can be conquerors through Christ who is within us. It is so easy, when things do not “go our way”, to jump to anger, despondency or doubt. I have been there SO many times. To quote from one of my 06’ Brio & Beyond mags (I was cleaning my old room lol) “Instead of walking in freedom and really enjoying God, we get obsessed with ourselves. Obedience can be tough. Maybe what we forget is that God says no to free us up for his yes. We find his plan when we draw close to Him.” Our God is not careless with us. Let us proclaim boldly God is GOOD! When I am in pain, God is Good. When I cannot understand, God is Good. When I am victorious God is Good. “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” ~2 Corinthians 9:8,