Even When We Don’t Understand

To watch someone suffer pain and hold on to God, knowing He could’ve stopped it, but chose not to, is truly a holy thing to witness.

My words don’t seem worthy to even attempt to describe such.

Yet, little has encouraged my faith as much as this story has. It’s one I’ve closely watched unfold for decades now.

Elizabeth should’ve been 30 this past week.

But cancer took her from their arms when she was so small.

Their marriage should’ve fallen apart, as so many do, after the loss of a child. But theirs is truly one of the happiest I know.

And they should’ve held too tightly to their other kids, protecting their own hearts from anymore pain; but instead I’ve watched them hold them with open hands even sending them on mission to dangerous places.

And I’ve seen them willingly risk their hearts even further, as they have adopted other children with messy, hard stories of their own.

Honestly, my own faith was almost rocked, and many might have said they should’ve finally thrown in the “faith towel” when their oldest son, looking forward to college, was diagnosed with an entirely different form of cancer than the one that took their little girl all those years ago.

Surely, they had the right to finally say, they’ve had enough and turn away from God.

We need only look around us to know human hearts are often offended with far less pain.

Most people wouldn’t have blamed my friends if they had turned away from the faith.

But they didn’t.
They didn’t turn away.

They didn’t turn away because my friends know this…. God really should’ve turned away from us.

But He didn’t.

Jesus knew we would mock, hurt, and reject Him.

But He came anyway.

The Almighty Powerful One still CHOSE to suffer and lay down His life for us.

God came to save us, when He, absolutely, had every reason, to give up on us.

But He didn’t. God didn’t give up on us.

He didn’t turn away in the suffering because His eye was on the JOY set
before Him. (Heb 12:2)

The rich, mysterious, wonderful love of Christ kept Him from turning away and caused Him to endure the Cross!

And once we’ve truly tasted and seen this deep, amazing love of Christ, we know too, it’s worth holding on to.

Even when we don’t understand.

My friends know this.

They’ve experienced the rock-solid, love of Christ that strengthens wounded
human hearts with hope to love past pain, to suffer and still seek, and to hold on even when we don’t understand.

Because of the never-ending, faithful love of Christ, there is joy that overcomes even the hardest of earthly circumstances and stands on solid hope that far exceeds the bounds of this very, temporary life.

Yes, my friends could’ve walked away from their faith in Jesus, but they held on because they know Christ is holding on to them.

He is still holding them.
He will always hold them.

I am a witness of the Source of their strength… and JOY.

And this I see, like all the suffering saints before them, who continue to trust Jesus with their pain, day in and day out, year after year; my friends’ very lives speak Jesus with incredible boldness.

Maybe, like me, you know you’ve given God plenty of reasons to give up on you, please hear me, praise God, HE HAS NOT! Oh friend, you can run to His open arms! He is faithful to forgive. (1John 1:9)

And if you’ve walked away, if life has hurt, if you haven’t understood the pain in your life, if you’ve given up on faith…

Let me tell you this with BOLDNESS, if you still have breath in your lungs, IT’S NOT TOO LATE to run back to the One Who has NOT given up on you!

What a faithful friend we have in Jesus! What hope there is for all who call on His Name!

Where else should we go? Where else should we turn! (John 6:68)

And one day, there will be no more death, nor pain or tears for all who call Him, Lord. (Rev 21:4)

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