ELDER: Trust God in difficult times

I was driving through downtown Atlanta on my way home after visiting my dad in the hospital. We had been experiencing a roller coaster ride of progress and setbacks over the previous 10 days since my dad had broken his hip. That particular afternoon had been a very discouraging one due to my dad’s increased mental confusion that day. At one point on my drive, a vehicle from the next lane sharply cut over in front of me. It wasn’t a reckless or irritating maneuver as is sometimes the case, but simply one that caused me to pay greater attention to that car. As I did, I noticed two stickers on its back windows. One read “God is good.” The other one declared, “The Lord is my strength.” I immediately realized that those were truths I needed to be reminded of at that moment. I have never been one to put stickers on my car, but I am glad someone did. Neither am I claiming that an angel was driving that vehicle, but it certainly was a timely encounter. I continued to repeat those words to myself and find encouragement in them the remainder of my trip home.

When we are facing difficulties or going through other trying times in our lives, those are two truths we need to keep in mind. First of all, God is good. It doesn’t mean that whatever we are going through is good. However, it does serve as a reminder that God is not being mean to us, He is not getting any pleasure out of our sufferings, nor has He simply forgotten us or forsaken us. He is a good God who loves us and who cares about us. It is a part of His nature — it is who He is. Even when He doesn’t do what we might prefer to see happen in our situation, we can still trust that He is good and is working out what is best. We may not understand why, but we know we can trust our good God. Furthermore, we can stand on His well-known promise that He is working all things together for good to those who love Him (see Romans 8:28).

Likewise, in those times we need to remember that the Lord is our strength. Sometimes we feel like the trials are more than we can bear. Our hearts break and our physical strength is sapped from long hours of caregiving, daily drives through rush hour traffic, interruptions to our normal routines in life, uncertainties about the future, and all the emotional stresses that accompany such circumstances. We may try to make it through in our own strength, but we often find ourselves struggling to keep going. It can be exhausting physically, mentally and spiritually. The good news is that we have Someone greater than ourselves on whom we can lean. The all-powerful God is holding us up. He can give us strength beyond our own capabilities. Another familiar promise lets us know that “Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).

When difficult times come your way, as they inevitably will, God may not send a car with stickers on its window to get your attention. Nevertheless, He wants us to remember these helpful truths. Don’t lose sight of His goodness, even when circumstances don’t look good. And don’t forget that your God is there to give you the strength you need to get through this. We can trust Him, and He can help us.