Heart Bypass

We had a dinner time devotion last night that really got me thinking. It was about God's sovereignty and His wisdom. One of the discussion questions at the end asked, "When we think God has not done the right thing, what is our judgment based on?" Sometimes, Olivia knows all the answers to these discussion questions. Last night, she didn't even quite understand the question.

Have you ever wondered what in the world God is up to? Have you ever wondered why in the world He was doing - or not doing - something in your life? Did it ever seem like there was NO way anything good could possibly be happening because it just felt SO bad? Those are the moments we should be asking ourselves this question. Here's the only answer I've found that's brought me any peace.

In Romans 8:28, Paul declares that  "We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose." That verse has carried me through some unbearably painful seasons of dealing with death, divorce and illness. What are you struggling with today? Chronic physical pain is especially difficult to handle. Loneliness is also hard. Regret, addiction, guilt, marital issues. Life is full of hard stuff. But this verse says that God uses it ALL for our good. It can be pretty difficult to believe that, though, when you're in the midst of the affliction. I've had to find a way to reason with myself so that I can bypass my heart in those moments, because just like anyone else, my heart is "deceitful above all things" (Jeremiah 17:9). My heart is always quick to judge situations and people - and God - based on how it feels, which often has nothing to do with the truth.  When I'm desperate for hope in a hopeless situation, I've had to learn how to leave my heart out of the equation.

While what I feel may be hopelesness, loneliness, or frustration, here is what I KNOW. I was a wreck before I encountered God. I did things my own way and ruined it all. I shared myself with others in ways that should've been reserved for my Maker alone. I looked for ways to anesthetize myself from all the world and self inflicted wounds.  I was a lost, mean, frightened, foul mouthed fool, looking for love in ALL the wrong places. BUT THEN...with a little help along the way....I finally found real Love. He touched me and made me whole. He healed my heart, my relationships, my family in unimaginable ways. He took all the broken pieces of a life that had been crushed and put them back together into something more beautiful than I ever could have on my own. I have lived the truth of Romans 8:28. I see the evidence of God, not just in my life, but in ME. Today I am a joy-filled, truth speaking, risk taking Jesus lover. I know the power of the One I have trusted. I know that He is real.

Based on my experience of His faithfulness, and knowing that His word says that "all Scripture is God-breathed" (2 Timothy 3:16), I have to believe that if He is who He has proven Himself to be, if He is "the way and the truth and the life" (John 14:6), if one word of this precious Holy Bible is true, then it ALL has to be true, because God doesn't do things half way. So when His Word says He can use this struggle, this pain, or this failure of mine for my good, I believe Him! My heart can complain all it wants to. I will choose to follow the steadfast example of Job and boldly proclaim, even if it is through a river of tears that "though he slay me, yet will I trust in him". (Job 13:15)

Father, thank You for taking the time to prove Yourself to me time and time again. Thank You for the way You encourage me when I am discouraged. Thank You for the unfailing hope I have in Jesus. Please teach me this day how to keep my eyes focused on You instead of the problem. Even through pain and struggle, I want You to be what I think on the most. Teach me to bypass my heart and exercise my faith, even when it doesn't feel good.

In His miraculous love,

Amy

copyright 2010, Amy Wallace