But God

BUT GOD....HE WILL USE YOUR TRIAL FOR GOOD!

As for you, you meant evil against me, BUT GOD meant it for good...  (Genesis 50:20)

 There are few experiences in life that are more universal than disappointment.

 Several years ago I walked through the most difficult of personal trials I have ever experienced, and for what it's worth I have been through a lot... Suffice it to say  if I were to write my autobiography it would most likely read like a fictional novel because my story is quite unbelievable.

I know sadly that I am not unique in any way to gut wrenching trials and all too often we all suffer tribulation that takes us to our knees and beckons us to go so much deeper in our faith. Through broken promises, unfulfilled expectations, and shattered dreams we are invited to a place that without the turmoil we would never know the enormity of the Lord's pure sweetness. Is this not the very reason for a trial? 

 This trial in my life that blew in like an unexpected thunder storm on a sunny day, has been so profoundly lined with such close parallels of the bitter sweet. The closeness and the presence of God have never been more absolute, miraculous and so supernatural; while simultaneously the blindsided feelings of betrayal, abandonment, and rejection have achingly pierced my very soul. 

Hurt, pain, lies and mistrust can level our lives and can change our worlds in an instant. This life.... It can certainly throw us a curve ball and cause you to want shout,"I quit, I'm done, I'm out... I GIVE UP!"

 But... Yes there's a  but... BUT GOD, yes there it is," BUT GOD," those 6 letters that can change ashes into beauty. They arrest me in my tracks, penetrating my self righteous, pity party and they command me to NEVER GIVE UP!  They cast a profound shadow and ignite the flame of my sorrow to be a light. Those words reel me back in, stretch my faith, strengthen me, guide me, hold me and bring me to my knees in abundant thanksgiving and paralyzing praise.  My eyes as if with blinders on stare straight ahead in laser focus on my very Creator in whom I can always trust with confident expectancy and hope.

 The ampleness of comfort 

 He shows us when we are downtrodden goes unsurpassed in comparison. He does not ever waste anything but contrarily He will use our pain as a catalyst and a testimony to demonstrate His love and tenderness. He is so close to the brokenhearted, never have I known anything to be more sure or more absolute than this.

The vastness of what I have learned about my heavenly Father's character, love, faithfulness and ultimate devotion to His children is nothing short of  miraculous. His glory is beyond measure. We can and will have what our faith expects. God will meet us at our level of expectancy.

 In our fleshy sorrows we utter, But God where are you?

But God, why are you allowing this?

But God, it hurts so much.  But God, if you loved me then why oh Lord am I having to suffer like this?

Those are the questions we frantically pour out as we lobby, and litigate on a quest for answers better than any high priced, ivy league lawyer ever could.

Faith is what we cannot see! What we must remember ...

 But God... 

But God will never leave you or forsake you! 

But God will turn all things around for your good! 

But God is a good and just God and He longs to pour out His blessings on us.

 But God knows your suffering and your pain and wants to comfort you.

 But God knows who's hurt you and He will rescue you.

But God's plan is immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine, wait on Him BE STILL.. And know without hesitation that He is GOD!

 But God...yes He is here.. Always....winning all of our battles!

I have seen Him supernaturally fight on my behalf. He has led me to the scriptures outlining what His brilliant plans are for me and how He intends to deal with the one who has hurt me.

"We must never worry about the judgement of the Godless." He warns, as He wants us to keep our eyes steadfast on Him alone. God's wrath far outweighs any vengence we could ever seek. We must forgive in the measure He has forgiven us and leave the punishment to God. God does not lie and His word will hold true for the obedient and disobedient alike. He is no respecter of persons. We can count on His word, He is not a God that should lie!

 I know that as He has led me through it all, He has drawn me closer and not allowed me to look back at the treachery He has rescued me from. We must always look ahead to where HE is. Seek His face first. We as Christians are called  to a higher standard of love, we must FORGIVE our enemies. Let the scab heal, move on and set the example. He will take care of the rest! His promises are glorious, unfailing and divine in truth.

We need to wholeheartedly trust and lay claim to the nearness of God, cling to His character and believe He is who He says He is. 

His will for us is Holy, perfect and unchanging. We must always let His Word trump our emotions.

 We will never be where God is not! 

 NEVER! 

He is closer than our breath! Walk valiantly through the trials of life knowing that Heaven's army will never let the righteous fall and that the blessings on the back side of obedience are enormous.

He's Got this, you're going to be OK!  You really are...It's not going to be easy, it's not going to be painless! Things will change! It will get better! Joy is on the way! Let His praises always be on your lips!... BUT GOD!! You make everything glorious!!

Job 36:17 But you are too obsessed with judgment on the godless. Don't worry, justice will be upheld!

Psalm 44:7-8

But you will give us victory over our enemies and we will praise your name forever

Psalm 38:18. 

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

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God Is Our Strong Tower by Nina Keegan Owens

Do you ever feel like you are continually having to scale up steep and tumultuous hills in your life? Do you often feel like everyday is an uphill battle? It seems just when it appears you are getting some traction, gaining some ground and securing your footing, you slip, you backslide, and you continually feel like it is always one step forward and three steps back.

You get overwhelmed and frustrated and feel like giving up. You often ask yourself where God is and why does He seem so far away from you and the battles you are facing.

God is never far from us, our times, good and bad are in His hands. We need to be confident in His ability and His willingness to see us through all we face. We need to just trust God and believe that He will work it all out for our good! He knows way more than we ever could and His timing in our lives is perfect.

Psalm 31:14-15
I trust in, rely on, and am confident in You, O Lord; I say, You are my God. My times are in your hands.

God is never far away, in fact He is always right there on stand by waiting for you to call upon His name. He is our refuge. Our weakness is His strength. I am sure there are many times in all of our lives when we felt like God was not answering our prayers but today, if we look back at those same situations, we can see exactly what God was doing and now from this perspective we would not change a thing! The Bible says that God will always perfect all that concerns us!

Growing up near Chicago Illinois, the winters would get pretty harsh, the roads would get very snowy and icy, l""there would even be freezing rain and sleet. Often blizzard like conditions would cover the area in blankets of white making it virtually impossible to travel. I can still hear the roaring sound of the snow plows late at night trying to keep up with the mounds of blowing snow. Often all that snow plow activity in the middle of the night would mean a "snow day"at school!! A day off to play in the snow is the way we saw it as kids. It was really meant to keep people home and safe from the dangerous and icy road conditions.
People would often put snow chains on their tires and the city salt trucks would would be out in full force salting the roads to provide extra traction. News and radio announcements would continually be reporting updates on road and school and business closings.

Even though one would take all these necessary safety precautions for better and safer conditions, the roads would still be extremely slick, cars would still slide and spin out of control landing them in the snow drifted ditches. The road sides were often littered with cars that just could not make it during the hazardous blizzard like storms and people would just have to abandon their cars to be dug out later. Getting a rescue ride home in a tow truck was not out of the ordinary.

Sometimes life hands us slick roads, we often feel like we have no traction and our lives are aimlessly spinning out of control. But God is ALWAYS in control. The Bible says He is our Rock and a Strong Tower, a shelter over us during any and all tumultuous times in our lives.

Psalm 18:2-3
The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress and my Deliverer; my God, my keen and firm Strength in Whom I trust and take refuge, my shield, and a horn of my salvation, my Strong Tower. I call upon The Lord, Who is to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.

God wants us to live peaceful and joyous lives regardless of what's going on around us. We can feel out of control but remain in control. We can cast any and all uphill battles off to the Lord and go about our days knowing and trusting that God is taking care of it all!! He cares about every last detail of our lives. God never sleeps so we can sleep! God wants us to pour our hearts out to Him and look to Him first. We must pray our hearts desires out to Him and let God take it from there. We must believe that God can and will do all He says He will. The Bible is full of God's truths for our lives. When we line up our situations with the word of God; we are claiming that victory for ourselves and our situations.

We must know the word of God for ourselves so we can draw from that wisdom and knowledge when the icy roads in our lives metaphorically rear their ugly heads.

Knowing what the word of God says provides us with a clear and detailed blueprint on how to handle turmoil, conflicts, and crisis of any kind. He provides us peace in the midst of the chaos and a calming rest in the middle of our storms. We can declare victory over any uphill battle we face when we are covered in the full amour of God.

Isaiah 26:3
God guards me, keeps me in perfect and constant peace because my mind is stayed on Him, because I commit myself to Him, lean on Him and I Hope confidently in Him.

The Lord lovingly and unselfishly sent His precious only Son Jesus to suffer gravely and to die a tortured and horrendous death for us...for you, for me, because He loves us that much!

Imagine that kind of perfect love.... If God did not withhold His only child from us, surely He will not withhold our needs and the answers to our prayers.


1 John 4:18
His perfect love casts out all fears!

Trust The Lord today with everything you are facing, let Him rain peace down over you and your loved ones and let His perfect love blanket your concerns and clothe you in His righteous presence as you trust and believe in Him for all you need today! His grace will always be sufficient for us and even though we may feel like in the flesh we are failing, we were all bought with a precious price. He is our strong portion of everything and He is our redeemer forever.

Heavenly Father, thank you that when we are weak you are strong! Thank you for lifting us up during times of need as you help us to scale our uphill battles with ease. We give you all the glory and we trust in and fully rely on you today to hear and answer our prayers and God give us patience to wait for your perfect timing!
In Jesus name!
Amen