We see God in the good times. We see the blessings He gives us. We see the provisions He makes for us, and we see all He does for us. He doesn’t have to reveal Himself in the good times, we see Him in abundance. But those bad times, the bad days, during the stormy seasons, He is not as visible. Not because He isn’t there, but because we allow the circumstances to block our view of God. We allow the situation to overshadow His promises. We try to fix our problems.
When I face tough times, I feel far away from God. I’m not implying that God has abandoned me or that He is leaving me to figure out my problems for myself, but I don’t feel as close or connected as I normally do. When I face tough times I have to intentionally seek out my Heavenly Father. In those tough times I need Him to reveal Himself to me. I need to see Him.
“God wants us to rely on Him and only Him to make it through our days”
This sentence stood out to me and made me look at how I handle my life in tough times. I will be the first to admit that when the tough times roll my way I do not always lean on God; sometimes my initial reaction is to lean on myself. I try to figure a way out of the situation I’m in. But thankfully, like with the Israelites, God does not get tired of repeating Himself. He doesn’t lose His patience. He doesn’t give up on me when I keep repeating the cycle over and over. He loves me through my good and my bad. My good behavior and my bad behavior. My good times and my bad times.
God does not make bad things happen to us, but He does allow us to go through trials. These trials bring us back to Him. They cause us to seek Him for guidance and support. These times cause us to intentionally look for Him. They remind us that we can not do it alone. He uses these times to remind us that He is there and that we need to lean on Him.
Ezekiel 20:7
Then I said to them, ‘Each of you, throw away the abominations which are before His eyes, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’
Ezekiel 20:42
Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for which I raised My hand in an oath to give to your fathers.
Ezekiel 20:19
I am the Lord your God: walk in My statutes, keep My judgments, and do them.
I love this following reminder:
“If we look at the character of God in the Old Testament, we see a God who wants a personal relationship with us.” When we, when I, don’t give Him my good and bad times, I am limiting His power in my life; I am not trusting that He can handle the easy and tough seasons I will go through.
I want to make this one of my go-to verses:
Psalm 34:8
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him.
We need to be intentional about trusting God in my tough times. We need to be intentional about seeing God in our tough times.
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Let’s Pray:
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank You for not tiring of reminding us of Your love. Thank You for not losing Your patience with us when we don’t seek You in our tough times. “You are the Lord our God.” You desire a personal relationship with us. You desire for us to seek You when life is good and when life isn’t so good. Lord please help us to stand on Your word. You are good, and we will be blessed when we seek refuge in You, in good times and in bad times. Thank You for Your love. In Jesus’ Name we pray.
Amen
About Tonya Ellison
Tonya, this study this morning is what I needed to hear, for myself and for my friend, Cindy. We prayed for her healing from breast cancer but she had to go through the surgery yesterday and they found more lymph nodes involved. This is certainly a tough time for her. What an important time to remember that God/Jesus will never leave her or forsake her. (Deut 31:6, John 14:16)
I agree with your last statements, “We need to be intentional about trusting God in our tough times. We need to be intentional about seeing God in our tough times.”
“Sometimes all we have to hold on to Is what we know is true of who you are So when the heartache hits like a hurricane That could never change who you are And we trust in who you are Even if the healing doesn’t come And life falls apart And dreams are still undoneYou are god you are good Forever faithful one Even if the healing Even if the healing doesn’t come.”
These are the lyrics from the song Even If by Kutless. The words are so powerful and they tell us that even when our tough times don’t resolve how we had hoped and prayed they would thst God is still our God, He is still loving and caring and still has a plan for us. Even in our tough times He is our refuge and our strength. You and your friend will be in my prayers. ♥
Thanks Tonya, that song is right on. I will definitely share it with Cindy. Thank you, especially for your prayers!
He IS the Lord…the Great I AM! thanks, tonya, for pointing us to the only One Who is absolutely trustworthy! really good reminders of the TRUTH! praying for each of us that t.o.d.a.y. we will seek Him, hold fast to Him, and praise Him for His immense goodness and grace to us! <3
Amen to that! I will be standing in agreement. ♥
grrrreat! <3
One of the most profound revelations I have had deals with this very issue. When times are good we have no need for God. When we struggle we seek Him. It is through the struggle that we truly begin to appreciate His character and allow Him to mold us into the person He wants us to be.
I want to be intentional to see Him “In all things” and “at all times” so I will never forget the I AM.
In all things and at all times is definitely something I have to remind myself of on a regular basis. Growing up I didn’t think that things like this would take much effort. As I grew up I found that tough times and good times require an intentional effort. It requires effort on our part. My personal goal will be “all things at all times”. ♥
“God wants us to rely on him and only HIM to make it though our days.” When problems arise, I am the first to try to handle them. I am a take control person. Why do I do this? I don’t know best only God knows what is best. I really need to trust that God is in control and allow HIM to be My Lord and God. Put HIM first in my life and surrender it all to HIM!! Thanks Tonya for these words of HOPE!! Psalms 34:8 “Oh taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who trusts in Him.” I love that the Lord wants us to taste his works. That requires us to ingest his mighty works. Look upon what he has done!! He has the perfect plan!! HE is our Lord God Almighty nothing is to trivial or to big for HIM to handle. We just need to trust and we will be blessed!!!
Lorraine I am a take charge person too, I want to fix the situation and I want to fix it now. Like you said, I have to remember that nothing is too big or yoo small for Him. ♥
Intentionally trusting God in both the good and the bad. My husband and I are intentionally trusting God to get us through these next 11 weeks. The good, he gets an extra day off every week, a three day weekend. The bad, he doesn’t get paid for that day. Financially, this is going to ruin us as our savings is depleted and probably his retirement delayed. God will be glorified during this time. We are both at peace and we are leaning on God to provide and to care for us while our world as we know it spirals downward.
He will take care of you and thank you for such a wonderful example!
Such a power statement “God does not make bad things happen.” We, as sinful people, bring out the bad by our actions, inactions, and general rebellion. But yes, God is faithful to us, in those moments of struggle to keep us firm, and bring us out to a glorified end. There are lessons to be learned about our character in times of trial … the key is to stop asking “Why me?” and ask “Why is this for me?”
I am so thankful for Gods patience with me… I, like the Israelites can be stubborn, thinking I can handle things on my own. For so many years (I was 50 before I received Jesus as my Savior-now 52) I did things on my own, I felt like I had to, no one else was taking care of anything! I had head knowledge of God & Jesus, I would pray for help when things got really bad but had no heart knowledge though. My life was a mess before. Old patterns are hard to break but I am trying my hardest to put all my trust in Him, in realizing His way is better than my way. Do I succeed? Not always but He is faithful to convict me, faithful to forgive me and faithful to love me. Thank you Heavenly Father for being so patient, compassionate, loving & forgiving!
Amen, Tonya!
Very good blog Tonya, and yes you are right, we need to seek Him in ALL things, at ALL times, not just when we need Him. The beauty of seeking Him in ALL things is that you will already know HE IS ALREADY THERE!! 🙂 AMEN!!! Oh what an awesome God we serve!!
When I am in the storm, I am very aware that I can only make it through with his strength. When the storm passes, I start to move forward on my own strength. My prayer is that I would seek to be near Him at ALL TIMES
thank u Tonya. I think it is so great that no matter whether good happens or bad, I scream His name. In good, I’m thanking Him, in bad, I’m crying out to Him. He is strongest in my weakness, I cannot imagine a day without Him. He is my stronghold, my Constant forever.
Wonderful lesson today Teresa and Tonya!
Despite the tragedies we may face God CAN make good out of bad, He has the recipe down to the last ingredient, lets let Him do the mixing, preparing and all will come out just as He planned!!! And when we get ready to partake of His plan whether we like it or not let’s thank Him!!
Oh so loving this study!!!!
Boy did I need this today. Recalling those tough times when I had to stretch to know and trust my Heavenly Fathers lead. Each day I give thanks not knowing what is in front of me but trusting His reveal will be more than enough.
Yes, the greatest I Am in my life is always by my side.
God wants us to rely on Him and only Him to make it through our days.
I am trying to be intentional about praying continually throughout the day. This helps. I also try to recognize negative emotions as time to change me and not always blame the situation. This does not come naturally, but I am happier when I do it.