We all trust God. We know he has a plan for us, our families, our kids. We trust in the fact that although we may not know his plan, he DOES have one and our lives are carefully planned before we even take our first breath. The hard part is the understanding of WHY. Whether good or bad, we always have an element of understanding that is often times left unanswered. The hard part is being ok with it. The hard part (just being honest) is understanding and accepting Gods plan- good with the bad.
The scripture in today's devotional comes from Job. I learned today that Job was a very rich man with many animals (something that showed wealth in his time) and children. He was a very Godly man, trusting God and living a life of strong faith. Satan came to God one day as one of his "angels" and challenged God that when Job was tested, he would sway from God and turn against Him. God gave the Ok for Satan to take away everything in Job's life, only sparing Job himself as a test. So, Satan did.... through the course of many events in one day, all of Job's animals were gone and his children dead. But still, Job praised God and turned to him for comfort. Satan pushed on, he plagued Job with painful boils up and down his body and still he praised God and has a very powerful conversation with his wife ... which is what the scripture is below.
"Then Job scraped his skin with a piece of broken pottery as he sat among the ashes. His wife said to him, "Are you still trying to maintain your integrity? Curse God and die."
But Job replied, "You talk like a godless woman. Should we accept only the good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?" So in all this, Job said nothing wrong.
Job 2:8-10
Wow... "Should we accept only the good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?" I believe that would be a yes! Through all of Job's sadness and disappointment, Job questioned God, but was never angry towards him. His faith was shaken, but never gone. As moms and really just in life, when terrible things happen to us, we have a particularly rough day, our family is going through something our kiddos are too young to understand, we hear another story of someone that breaks our heart, or we're tested in a way that pushes us to our limits... the "why God?" creeps in. I think that's a natural response and honestly, a question we may not get a response to that's crystal clear. But one thing I learned from Job today and to be quite frank, my husband who has had to ask alot of "Why God?" in his lifetime so far, is that we cannot even begin to understand God's ways and His plan is way beyond our comprehension.
The other thing I learned from today is what Job talked about with his wife. We may not like a situation in our life, we may not understand it, but we are to accept the good and bad from God. Our faith, not our understanding, is what will get us through. That is super hard sometimes, especially if you are a type A like muah but still...
After all was said in done, God ended up blessing Job with twice as many riches as before, cured and healed his body of all boils and blessed him with more children than he had before (supposedly the most beautiful daughters in all the land).
So, in the midst of little ones temper tantrums this week, kiddos testing us, overwhelming decisions, 50 things to juggle and I'm sure many more "trails" or "tests". I am comforted knowing that while I may not understand the "why", I can relax knowing that God will carry me through it :)
Choices to make this week:
Prayer from Karol Ladd:
"Mighty God, I stand in awe of your majesty and power. You are a good God! Although my comprehension is weak, I trust in your goodness. Thank you that you have a plan that goes far beyond what I can see; thank you that you care about my deepest longings and needs. Thank you that you are with me in my pain as well as my joy. Help me to be aware of your presence. In Jesus's name I pray, amen."