Even if...

Our women's class last night centered on the topic of loving God, being faithful to God, following God "Even If...". We will all face trials in our life on Earth - if everything were perfect here, why would we have or need the hope of heaven?

Here are a few verses from our class:

When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future. Ecclesiastes 7:14 NIV

So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. 1 Peter 4:19 NIV

I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the Horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. Psalm 18:1-3; 17-18 NIV

"Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed" says the Lord, who has compassion on you. Isaiah 54:10 NIV

There are many trials we may go through, most of which we will not be able to understand. We may ask, "What is happening here, Lord?" A quote we talked about is from Dr. James Dobson: "My strongest advice is that each of us acknowledge before the crisis occurs, if possible, that our trust in Him must be independent of our understanding. There’s nothing wrong with trying to understand, but we must not lean on our ability to comprehend! Sooner or later our intellect will pose questions we cannot possibly answer. At that point, we would be wise to remember His words, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). " James Dobson, When God Doesn’t Make Sense, pp. 236-237. ©1993, Tyndale House Publishers.

If we make the decision to be faithful, to trust in Him before the crisis happens, then we are much more likely to follow Him through the valley and the pain.

I hope you will take a few minutes to watch this short video - http://www.blessyoumovie.com/ . May God bless you today!
Sandy