Faithful When It's Hard

I had the honor recently to be a part of the planning committee for a close friend's baby shower.  It reminded me of how thankful I am for so much.  We had a lovely time.  Everything fell into place perfectly.  The food was awesome, setting up was a breeze, the guests were gracious and the mama to be was just glowing and beautiful.  It was truly a memorable occasion.  All babies are miracles.  In this particular case, we had been praying for this couple for a very long time and having a baby was a struggle for many years.  It always astounds me how God works and answers prayer.  He always promises to be faithful to us.  We just have to be faithful to Him.  Remember the story of Solomon.  He had so much going for him; he had the Lord's blessing from his father, King David.  He was known around the world for his wisdom and great wealth.  Yet he failed to remember to continuously be grateful and faithful to his Lord, our God.  He loses it all.  When you are going through a tough time, it is so hard to praise God and remember that He loves you.

I have said often, "God has a plan." and quote my favorite verse "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  He didn't just say this to some people; He said this for ALL of us.  We all have a special plan for our hearts.  I'm still hoping one day mine will include standing on a stage in front of tens of thousands singing my heart out but we already talked about that. 

So when we are going through things we don’t understand, God is with us.  He loves us and wants us to be happy.  We live in a world of sin, and bad things happen to good people. However, God has a plan to give us hope.  Remember He already won the war.  We need to act as though we are already living in victory.  It was hard to understand that God’s plan will prevail and not know whether that included a baby for her and her husband.  Faith allowed us to do our best to comfort her; prayer and constant submission to God’s will helped her and her husband to get pregnant with our sweet baby who we will meet any day.  When things do not go as planned, you must remember that whatever happens, God’s plan is better than any concoction we could come up with on our own and we will ultimately be happier and more faithful with His plan.  Have faith and trust that God will pull you through no matter what your situation is.  Know that God has already won; that sin is defeated even when you are going through it.  We read the end of the book first…the good guys win!  Have faith, your season will change and God will show you so much more than you ever prayed for!