Coincidence?

Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them. - Psalm 139:16

I must admit that nearly half of everything I experience seems like some sort of chance happening. Life just seems to simply happen to us. It doesn't feel planned, rather much more random and chaotic.

Looking back on the last couple years, I can remember vividly those moments when I felt this way. The moments seemed insignificant at the time, just a chance encounter or such. In hindsight, it's these very moments that have shaped much of who I am and even where I am now.

I'm realizing now that nothing is left up to chance. (Yes, it's taken me this long.) Everything, every meeting, every interaction, every place I visit and every person I pass in the street, it is all planned by God. There's nothing that happens that God misses or forgets. He plans it all.

Life, (somehow), gets much easier when you realize this and rest in it. When you see that God has planned everything and rest only in His plans, suddenly, there is nothing left to worry about. (Of course, resting in it is what we all struggle with!)

As I go through yet another season of change and find myself feeling the weight of many different decisions, I'm reminded once again to be still and rest in Him. I'm reminded of the scripture:

Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it. - Psalm 37:5

Whatever you're going through right now, know that God is with you, God is for you and God has a plan to use this season for mighty things in your life. Nothing is left to chance. Nothing is a coincidence. God is with you every step of the way.

Proven character

We also exult in tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. - Romans 5:3-5

I was praying the other day and God brought this scripture to mind. I read it and meditated on it and I saw something I had never seen before. I've read this scripture a hundred times and I've heard it included and focused on in so many sermons, still, I've never seen this.

I understood that this scripture was about persevering through trials and tribulations, pushing through, no matter what. It was the next part that I was mistaken about. I always thought that the "proven character" that it talks about was our own. I thought that as we go through challenges we show ourselves, we prove to ourselves who we are, and what we can endure while still seeking Him. This is, of course, part of it, but only the smallest part. So little of this depends on us.

The proven character that this scripture talks about is not our own but God's. As we through different types of hardship and see how God handles us in love we are able to more fully depend on Him. We learn about God's grace, for us and for others. We learn of His provision. We learn and it is proven without a doubt that God will never forsake us. We see Him stand by us through all types of trials and through this we learn so much about His character.

As we learn about His character, we are able to shrug off trials and tribulations which before would have broke us, because now we can trust in the character of God which was proven to us in our dark seasons before. When we hope in the character, the power, the love and the sovereignty of our God we will not and cannot be disappointed.

It is for this reason that I'm thankful for the last... 5 months. I've been through many trials, persecution, rejection and just general hardship. It has been a dark hour, yet I have come out having learned so much. It is not to say that I don't still hurt, because I do. These wounds will take a lot of time to heal, but still I consider them a blessing.

I have learned so much about the Lord through this. He has revealed to me even more of His character, His love, His sovereignty and His provision. Someone sent me an email a little while back saying that I am the cat that always lands on my feet; now, when I think about that statement, I see why that is. The Lord catches me, carries me, flips me around and sets me down gently. Yes, I still took a fall, but He was with me all the way.

Can you look back now on some of your personal hardships and see things that the Lord taught you? Can you see how He revealed Himself to you during those times? Can you see His provision, His love, his sovereign nature? Can you see how He caught you? The Lord doesn't leave us when things get hard; He stands by us in our hour (or hours) of suffering. He weeps and prays for us. He takes each and every trial and redeems it. What have you learned about the Lord in your recent trials? Praise Him for that experiential knowledge.