Would He still be King?

 Today I had the pleasure of going down to our Colony chapel and praying for this summer at America’s Keswick. The Colony chapel always brings a mood of reflection to me and this time was no different. As I sat down in one of those old pews, and heard the creak of the aged wood and breathed in that warm old timber smell, I began to pray. Searching my heart for the right things to say I started asking God to open the hearts of the people coming this summer and to help fill our empty beds so He would have more people to minister to. As I opened my eyes, an old question popped into my head that I genuinely struggled with when I was younger, which is, “Is God still good if he doesn’t heal, doesn’t restore, and doesn’t supply? Would He still be King?”

 Working at Keswick I hear mountains of stories of peoples loved ones who are severely ill or friends who were taken too soon. Mothers who have lost sons and daughters or marriages that are falling apart. It is in these dark times that a believer’s soul splits in two. The human side of us wants to scream out and say no; to say if He doesn’t heal then he doesn’t care and couldn’t be the heavenly Father I read about. The other side is our spiritual side; it is the side that is filled with the Holy Spirit and continually reminds us that he is there to comfort and carry us through any dark valley in our life.

 As we learn to walk in God’s promises we need to remember what they actually are. God never promises that we won’t struggle or be caught up in this life’s darkest deepest valleys, in fact, He’s promises the opposite. In James chapter 1 is says “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

 God uses these dark times in our lives to build us into the people we we’re created to be. It’s never easy or pain free but he does promise to be with us through it all. The Bible is filled with our Lord promising to be our refuge. In Him “Our King,” we can find an unmatched peace. “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him. “ Nahum 1:7”I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John16:33 I am now able to find hope that Jesus is still on the throne and that His position will never change even when my circumstances do.  Even if God doesn’t shield me from life’s struggles, I can always find refuge in a loving Savior. I trust you can do the same today. 

Daily Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 4-6; Acts 2:1-21

Quote of the day: If the heart is devoted to the mirage of the world, to the creature instead of the Creator, the disciple is lost…However urgently Jesus may call us, His call fails to find access to our hearts. Our hearts are closed, for they have already been given to another. Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Verse to Memorize: Therefore I love you commandments above gold, above fine gold. Therefore I consider all your precepts to be right; I hate every false way. Psalm 119:127-128 ESV