When the world feels too much to handle, find hope here...

God's purposes and plans will NOT be thwarted, ours often will. The fact that our plans, hopes, and dreams do not always pan out is not a commentary on God's power, goodness, or trustworthiness.

🍭When a child's plans to eat candy for dinner and play in the street are disrupted by the parent, we do not say the parent is unkind. However, to the child, the candy was "good" and there were not any cars around at the time.

God's thoughts and ways are higher than ours.

I think sometimes we forget there is a VAST difference between the Creator and the created.

We are human afterall and He is the infinite, eternal, uncaused cause. (Just take a look through a telescope... we only know a fraction of what he has made...and it's mind blowing!)

And yet...

He is knowable, personal, a God of all comfort, compassionate, and patient.

☀️He is light and in him is no darkness, the darkness is as light to him, and the night is as bright as day. (I John 1:5, Psalm 139:12)

This eternal light came into the world...

And in him (Jesus) was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:4)

But what about the horrors and injustices we see daily in our lives and around the world?

🌎 Friends, we live on a planet that is not "safe." Bad and evil things WILL happen here

because of the original fall of man, aka sin. The awful things like hatred, death, destruction, wars, and rumors of wars are not one offs, or anomalies; they are the norm and sadly to be expected.

And...

This is NOT the end of the story.

Evil will NOT ultimately win.

Because...

Greater is he who is in us, than he who is in the world...

❌And this does not mean we will be spared from heartache, hardships, disappointment, disaster, trials, tribulations, and tears.

It is going to look like God isn't powerful and good if you limit the story he is writing to your earthly years, omit eternity, cancel ultimate redemption, and forget about Christ's ressurection, and promised return.

Without eternity...

Without Christ's payment for ALL evil on the cross (including secret sins of the heart and the selfish motives we love to excuse away and justify as not that big of a deal)

And without the resurrection...

all the horrible things you may be tempted to believe about God, would be true.

The bigger story matters... a lot!

🎥Think of any cinematic movie that has a great restorative ending, if you stopped it in the mmiddle, at the height of the chaos, and called that "the end," you might have some choice words for the director....

Namely... whyyyy???! ❓

☝The answer is "Wait.... there's more to this story." There is more than just this life. Nothing will be wasted, no pain will be in vain, no wrong will go unaddressed.

In the ACTUAL end of all things, what was wrong will finally be made right, and then it will all make sense.

One day friends, one day...

There will be no more tears, death, crying, or pain. (Revelation 21:4)

Our struggle is quite often exacerbated by forgetting we are living life inside ETERNITY with a God who IS love, who IS hope, who IS alive, who IS light, and whose good plans of redemption and restoration of all things can not and will not ever be thwarted. (Job 42:2)

For further reflection and meditation:

II Corinthians 5

Share this with someone if you agree.

Say "amen" out loud if you were encouraged.

Meditate on this if you are weary.

Consider this if you are doubting.

-Carrie Breedlove MS, LPC

This is your #messageinabottle

Finding joy on the unchosen journey.