Whatever you are struggling with, believe that your faith has a voice. When you cry out to the Father, he hears you.
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada with a word when your best plans go awry.
And we use that word “plan” a lot in the Christian life. And maybe, when you were first introduced to Christ, someone may have said to you, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.” Man, it sounded great, and so you, as a new believer, launched out on your spiritual journey, very much comforted to know that God had a special plan just for you. But then, when troubles piled up – when you received that bad medical report, or chronic pain became part of your life, or when your marriage fell apart – did you feel like you somehow got separated from God’s wonderful plan? Well, maybe so, and I certainly felt like that when I broke my neck. People told me that it was part of God’s plan in my life, but it didn’t feel like a wonderful plan, or even a good one, or a nice one.
And if you resonate with this; if you’re going through a tough time in which everything around you seems to be falling apart, let me share a Bible verse that helped me. It’s Psalm 57:2 where David literally groans, saying, “I cry out to God most high, who will fulfill his purpose for me.” Okay, so here’s the scene. David – the psalmist here – David was fleeing for his life, hiding in a cave, hoping that King Saul wouldn’t find him. His resources were running low, his men were grumbling, there was no way out of this cave without getting killed, and our man is in anguish. But David doesn’t collapse in a pile, convinced that God has forgotten him. No, he’s a believer; he knows better; he remembers God’s faithfulness, and so he cries out – and this is no polite metaphor, as though David were quietly murmuring. Rather, he cries out! He cries out. And loudly.
Faith always has a voice, and often it is an insistent voice. Like David, we pray because we believe. We believe that God’s merciful. We wait, and God works. And that’s what happened to David. When he cried out, God was not about to forget his covenant with his servant; so, David not only escaped the cave, he was all the better for having come through it, and eventually he defeated King Saul.
Look, I don’t know what great affliction you’re struggling against, but whatever the suffering, please believe today that your faith has a voice. Pray because you believe. And I’m banking on the fact that you believe God is merciful and that he will fulfill his purpose for you. From time immemorial, in your book of life, this moment – this struggle that you’re going through – was set in stone and it’s all in your preordained days – it’s all written by the hand of God himself. This awful thing that you are now enduring is part of that plan that’s necessary. And I know this is going to sound odd, but it’s necessary for your eternal happiness – that’s what makes the plan wonderful. The things that God permits do not damage your soul; no, they stretch your soul’s capacity for more eternal happiness than you can now possibly imagine. God has already written the final page of that plan in your life, and it’s beautiful, it’s worth the wait, it’s worth the hardship, and it’s worth crying out to God.
So, there is a purpose for your life, and God will fulfill it. And that plan will contain difficulty and disappointment. Jesus made it clear when he said, “In this world [you’ll] have trouble. But take heart!” He said, “I have overcome the world.” In him, we overcome. So, in closing, yes, God does have a wonderful plan for your life. So, rest in his wise plan, even when it includes obstacles and roadblocks. He’ll fulfill his purpose for you. And you know what? These today are hopeful words in your hardship.
© Joni and Friends