What a difference a week makes! I wrote this post a little more than a week ago and the world we live in today was a very different place. I considered a rewrite but it’s still relevant.
I hope you find the following post helpful and encouraging in some way in these uncertain times. I pray the Lord will bless you and keep you safe.
Recently I had a conversation with a friend who was dealing with the death of a loved one and all that entailed. At the same time her career was shooting off into a new and exciting direction. God opened doors she never imagined.
She went on to tell me that her brother was experiencing a similar situation with his career. It was all very exciting, but it was in the midst of their mourning. She told me how her brother couldn’t understand why God always ruined the good stuff with bad stuff and went on to say that it seemed like whenever something good happened something bad would happen too.
Have you ever experienced this?
I suggested to my friend that God gives us the good stuff to help us through the difficult times.
She was blown away by the thought and excited. It had never crossed her mind that God gave her the good stuff to help her through the hard times. You see, to her way of thinking the bad stuff was there to temper the good.
Her excitement was contagious because I realized that God had used me to encourage her. She was so excited by what I said, she even asked me to write a magazine article on the topic. I’ve yet to do that, but I will at some point.
The Lord knows what we face and how it will affect us. He also knows what gives us joy. I liken it to being a parent or best friend. We see our kids or best friend going through a rough patch and we want to help. We know what will make them happy and try to help them through it with some positive encouragement.
Our Lord loves us more than we are capable of grasping. He wants the best for us. He’s not out to destroy or make us fearful of what will happen next. Yes, bad stuff happens everyday. People die, jobs are lost, illness happens, but He wants to help us through those times. He wants to be apart of every aspect of our lives.
I encourage you today to remember you are loved by your creator. He wants the best for you.
Have you read any inspirational romance books that filled you with encouragement when times were bad? Please share in the comments.
As I finished writing this song came to my mind. What Love is This Kari Jobe. This link will take you to the song on YouTube. It’s a beautiful song and one of my favorites.
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Award winning author Kimberly Rose Johnson married her college sweetheart and lives in the Pacific Northwest. From a young child Kimberly has been an avid reader. That love of reading fostered a creative mind and led to her passion for writing. She especially loves romance and writes contemporary romance, romantic mystery, and romantic suspense that warms the heart and feeds the soul. Kimberly holds a degree in Behavioral Science from Northwest University in Kirkland, Washington, and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers.
“What Love is This?” by Kari Jobe is one of my favorites, too. Our choir director first introduced this song to me while practicing for our annual Christmas program, and I’ve had it on my playlist ever since.
It’s truly a beautiful song. :)
Thank you for the timely message. God knew how applicable it would be today.
One of my favorite songs for times like these is Lynda Randle’s God on the Mountain. Also, Whintley Phipps tells of a woman saying if the mountain was smooth, you couldn’t climb it. That phrase has stuck in my mind for years!!!! It’s also very true!!
Being His child is a picture the brings me back on track time and again. I’m the immature one. He knows the whole great big picture. His love for me isn’t just solid, it’s deep. While I may wander around, unfocused, He has a plan and a place for me in it. That place for me is so much richer than I can handle in my childishness. I want my toys and my candy and my video games and I sulk when He says “No”. Yet the life He intends to build in me is worth the sometimes painful letting go of my selfish desires and the struggle to build the spiritual muscles of faith and obedience that will enable me to enter into the joy of my Father’s heart for me. Such a relentless, perfect love is more precious the more we learn of and know it and it’s Giver. In His mercy, He meets us and loves us as we are, but He loves us so much that He will not leave us there. What a love!
I recently finished reading “The Choice” by Dr. Edith Eva Eger, a Holocaust survivor. She knew Viktor Frankl, another Holocaust survivor, who said “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” If ever there was a time to choose one’s attitude.
It really is truly amazing to me how He works.
I haven’t heard that saying before, but I don’t think I’ll forget it either now. Thanks for sharing, Trudy.
Wow! Well said, Lincoln. Thank you.
Thank you, Judy for the reminder that we choose our attitude.
So very true! God is always good, even in the midst of difficult or scary times. He is Soveriegn over it all.
Absolutely! Thank you for that reminder.
God is good even in the storms. Thank you for sharing your encouragement. Blessings
Amen, Lucy.
Kimberly, thanks for the encouraging words.
I read The Book of Lost Friends… so amazing. Won’t be released for a few weeks.
I can’t think of one specific book! Take care!
No worries, Linda. You take care too. Thanks!
Thanks for the tip, Denise!
Kimberly,
Those were beautiful words. In this time, we all need encouragement, thank you for being that to many of us.
As for a book that touched my heart and brought me to God, I would say Nicole Deese’s newest book that comes out next week. Before I Called You Mine. It had some wonderful quotes and beautiful imagery.
Thank you, Marylin. I love that books can be encouraging to us. Thanks for sharing the one you read.
Wonderful post! So many times God has led me to the perfect book for the exact moment I’m in, and I always wonder if I would have appreciated them as much if I had read them at any other time! Oh, how perfect His timing is!
Most recently I read an ARC of Janine Rosche’s debut novel This Wandering Heart, and it was just the balm my heart needed in these scary times, it made me smile and laugh and warmed my heart! 🙂💕
The Lord’s timing is truly amazing.