We have all been told to trust God, but do we really trust him? What about when we do not feel like he is there? What about when bad things happen? What about when we experience great loss???
This world is fallen, corrupt, and full of evil. How do we trust God knowing that he causes or allows so much suffering?
We all have bad days. We all go through times of trouble. People mistreat us, we are faced with cancer, we are involved in accidents, we get hurt, and sometimes our hurts leave permanent scars. How do we trust God in the midst of all that?
Well, first we need to ask what the Bible has to say about suffering and trusting God.
Proverbs 3:5 states, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”
God’s ways are not our ways. He transcends our human logic and even when we do not understand why things are the way they are, we can trust that God is in control.
Romans 8:28 states, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
Just because things work out for good, it does not mean that there is no suffering.
1 Peter 4:12-13 reads, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.”
Here we are told that Christians will suffer for their faith.
Revelation 21:4 reads, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
In the end, when God renews all that has been corrupted, there will be no more suffering.
As Christians we trust in God because God is good. We trust in God because he always does what is best for his creation. We trust in God because he makes our paths straight. We trust in God because he mends things that are broken. We trust in God because he suffered and died for us on the cross. We trust him because he walks with us when we suffer. He knows our pain and understands what we are going through.
Trusting God as We Grieve and Heal
When we go through something traumatic, painful, or an experience of great loss, we must grieve what has happened. The typical stages of grief include shock which occurs upon first receiving bad news. The next stages include denial in an attempt to avoid the reality of the situation, anger at the situation, the outcome, and sometimes oneself, bargaining in an attempt to find a way out of the situation, depression, testing the situation to find a realistic solution, and finally accepting the situation. Every person deals with grief in their own way. Sometimes they go through each stage of grief and sometimes they do not. Sometimes the grief process moves quickly, sometimes it takes years – even decades. Every person should have the opportunity to grieve in their own way and in their own time frame. But when we grieve as believers’ we must remember not to neglect our faith. God walks through the grief process with us. He understands our emotions better than we do. He is there, but we must choose to trust him throughout the process.
For more on the stages of grief read: https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/grief/understanding-the-stages-of-grief/
