Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Great (07/06/06)
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TITLE: God Is Great, God Is Good | Previous Challenge Entry
By Lucy Cain
07/08/06 -
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As a child I was taught this dinner time prayer…”God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food.” How simple, yet how sweet coming from the mouths of children. I remember teaching it to our children as soon as they could speak in sentence form! Sometimes they would get the words jumbled up, but God heard their prayers all the same.
My children are now adults and we still believe that God is great and that He is good. Trust me. We have been through enough difficult life events that make some people question how we still embrace that truth. But we do. Because He is.
We have endured job losses, financial disasters, death and injuries due to traffic accidents, murder of three family members (a mom and her two children), our daughter’s lengthy kidney problems, my mother’s complicated illness/death, some of my own health issues, and other tragic events I won’t mention.
Here’s why I still believe that God is great and that He is good. I believe His Word. Period. These events are merely our crisis of belief crossroads in life. Points in time where our faith shatters or shines. Either we believe Him or we don’t. Oh, we might believe in the Lord as Savior…but don’t stop there! I’ve learned through the years to also believe He is Who He says He is, and I’ll believe He’ll do as He says!
There is greatness in God’s Word and there is goodness in God’s Word. I don’t understand how people get through life without Him! I would not have emotionally survived some of these events without the greatness and goodness of God! I found promise and hope of restoration and healing in His Words.
Do we know why some of these things happened? No. Not yet…but we will one day because He tells us we will.
Is it OK to tell God we are hurting and that we don’t understand? You bet it is! That’s the first step in healing with God…tell Him what you feel. Even if you’re angry because He “didn’t stop it” from happening. He allowed us to have choices…and sometimes we feel the brunt of others’ poor choices…or sins…not because God “did it”. What so many people don’t realize is that God grieves with us when terrible things happen. He is a loving God! And a sovereign God Who will make all things beautiful in His time….
He wants us to apply His Words in our everyday circumstances. I claim Philippians 4:13 every day… “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (NIV) Now. Take the words “do everything” and substitute whatever situation you are experiencing in that blank. Apply His Words! It’s only through His greatness and goodness that we can endure some of life’s tragedies.
How do I know that God is great and that He is good? I’ve experienced it both in the storms and when the winds are calm. I’ve felt His provision, compassion, tender mercy and powerful grace. I will always claim that God is great and that God is good…no matter what, and no matter how old I am!
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