I've never considered myself an overly religious person. Throughout my life, I've waivered to & from God in fleeting moments. Like most, in those times when I've seen trials I've leaned on God for comfort, compassion, and prayed like there was no tomorrow.
In my quest to find God time & again, I've often wondered why it is so easy to fall away from God when times are good versus in times of tribulation. I think I may have found the answer last night. 
My ten year old daughter took ill in the night. She awoke with one of those nasty stomach bugs that every parent dreads. It was about 12:30 AM & I knew we were in for a long night. When my children get sick, I don't sleep well. Last night would be no exception. To pass the time while my daughter rested I did something I do don't enough of...I read the Bible. 
Being awakened so abruptly put me on edge. It wasn't like I hadn't been through this before with my kids, but I was anxious for this storm to pass. It hadn't been that long ago when my daughter had another stomach bug. Typically when my kids come down with this type of illness, I usually don't have to worry about them getting it again for a good while. 
Unlike before, I found myself worrying about my daughter like I'd never done before when she's taken ill. I needed something to help contain my worries & put my mind & soul to rest. If you read my earlier post, you know this hasn't been the best of weeks for me. So her getting sick was almost the icing on the cake & definitely made me glad we are on the downhill slope towards Friday.
I read several passages in my Bible. I prayed on what I'd read. I asked God to lessen the blow of this bout of this stomach bug in my daughter & help her to feel better sooner rather than later like last time. 
Flipping through chapters and pages throughout the New Testament I came upon a passage in 2 Corinthians 1: 3-11. I was immediately blown away because it was as if the words jumped off the page at me & were speaking to me. The passage talked about suffering and how when we suffer we turn to God for comfort. God's comfort is what allows us to show comfort & compassion towards others. I couldn't believe it! There was my answer to the question I had pondered so many times before. 
Not only that, but that answer gave me peace about my daughter's illness. It was as if the moment I read it, I had a full understanding of the grace & mercy of our Father. God allows suffering to take place in our lives so that we never become totally dependent upon ourselves to find the answers to the struggles we face. If there were no suffering, we would never find our way to God & seek His wisdom so that we might find peace & comfort to know all is going to be okay in the midst of the storms of life.
It is such a comfort knowing that I don't have to shoulder life's burdens all by myself or feel alone in the midst of them. God knew what He was doing when he designed that plan for each of us. We can grow apart from Him, but we can never live without Him.
2 comments:
How awesome is He! I'm so glad you were able to find comfort in God when you really needed it. He is there all the time waiting for us to come to Him, but sometimes we just don't see it. Hope your daughter is feeling better now and that He gives you peace. :)
"God allows suffering to take place in our lives so that we never become totally dependent upon ourselves to find the answers to the struggles we face. If there were no suffering, we would never find our way to God & seek His wisdom so that we might find peace & comfort to know all is going to be okay in the midst of the storms of life." are perfect words!!! God is an amazing God and is so loving that we could never truly understand it. We think that the love we feel for our children is the strongest love in the world, but the love that God feels for us is so much more than that we feel even. He wants us to choose Him willingly and not be forced into it as well. Anyway, awesome post! I am so glad that God talked to you last night!!!
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