God is sovereign, and He is also good. Knowing this, many
believers struggle to understand why painful things happen in life. They
wonder, Why wouldn’t the Lord stop me from experiencing such heartache?
The question deepens when we read a Bible passage like Psalm
121:7-8: “The Lord will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. The
Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and
forever.” Many people interpret this to mean that God will keep them from
difficulty. But what the words say is that He promises to keep their soul.
The Lord allows pain in our life. Sometimes He even
orchestrates it. God understands the hurt, but He also looks into the deeper
meaning of the situation. Trials often strengthen our faith, make us more like
Jesus, and give us compassion for others. At times, God may even use
difficulties to keep us from becoming complacent in our spiritual walk. With
His help, we profit immensely more from walking through the pain than from
avoiding it. When our heavenly Father knows it is best, He doesn’t keep us from
the pain; instead, He enables us to endure the hardship by giving us wisdom and
strength. And when we get to the other side, we can often see—with profound
thankfulness—how His loving and gracious hand guided us through the whole
situation.
We have tremendous hope, knowing that God will keep us
through the most difficult times. Reread Psalm 121, and ask the Lord to remind
you of its truths when painful situations arise in your life.
Thought for today: Do I trust that God works in and
through my pain?
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