"Can knowing that God is good and that He loves me give me back my joy?"

Today's Precious Prodigal Post is at = http://bit.ly/1ryDQn5 "Can knowing that God is good and that He loves me give me back my joy?" #Godisgood Like what you see? Please "Like" & "Share us on FB

Jeremiah 29:11 “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.”

God has a plan for our lives, and I could write today about His sovereignty …because He IS sovereign.   However, you and I can’t and won’t accept the sovereignty of God unless we believe first in His goodness and His love.   In his book, The Shack, Wm. Paul Young tells the story of Mack Phillips’ encounter with God after the loss of his daughter.

Mack believed in God, and he even believed God was in control. His problem was that he didn’t believe God was good or kind or loving. The fact that God is in charge, that He is powerful won’t give us peace when our world is upside down. The only thing that will give us peace when something terrible happens is our absolute confidence that God is good and that He loves us.

God proved that love when He sent his Son to be the payment for our sins, and Jesus proved His love by willingly taking on that sin and nailing it to the cross. God didn’t do those things because we were His loving, obedient children or His best friends. He did it when we were His enemies, estranged and separated from Him. (Col 1:21)

And, in doing it, He reconciled us to Himself. So it isn’t about a religion…it’s about a relationship. Because of that sacrifice, that payment, that reconciliation, you and I can cling to this enormous, powerful God like the precious children we are and call Him Abba, Father.

My friend Marlene is going through a storm greater than most of us could even imagine. Her daughter, a realtor, was kidnapped when she went to show a house last week and has not yet been found. As I’ve tried to walk beside my friend and encourage her through this terrible storm, I’ve found to my amazement that she is the one who is encouraging those around her.

When I learned last night that an arrest warrant had been issued, I checked on Marlene through another daughter to make sure she didn’t find that out on social media. Then my phone rang, and it was my friend Marlene assuring me that she was ok.

How could she have that strength, that confidence, that hope that things will work out in the end? The short answer is she can’t…that is, she can’t if she doesn’t believe with all her heart that God is good and that He loves her.

Is God powerful? Oh, yes He is! But the hand that holds that power is the loving, gentle hand of a God who loves us and has a plan for our lives. And none of what you and I are going through or will go through in our lives makes sense without adding God…a Power greater than ourselves…into the equation.

We may not understand what’s happening in our lives or in the lives of the people we love. However, trusting the One who does understand can give us back our joy…even in the storm.

Challenge for Today:   What might happen if we, just for today, rested in the assurance that God is good and that He loves us?