God Sees The Big Picture


Michael P. Reese


“I cannot believe this is happening to me.” “Things like this are not supposed to happen to good people.” “I have lived my life for God, why is He allowing this to happen?” All of these statements and more like them are heard often when disappointments come our way. Your world has been rocked. You have been hit and hit hard by a “sucker punch” of life. You have been blindsided by a setback in life that you did not see coming. What do you do now? God’s people are constantly beset by problems and events in life that sometimes seem devastating. When you are faced with these situations, what do you do? 


Let me say at the outset, I do not imply that I have the answer or explanation to your major problems. Nor do I seek to minimize your emotional or physical suffering. I do, however, seek to propose counsel from the Word of God that just might comfort and help when you are reeling from one of life’s blows. The following are several scriptural principles that just might help you put things in perspective and help you begin the healing process of putting your life back together.


First, Trust God with all your heart. In Proverbs 3:5, Solomon commands the following: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” Hard times call for absolute trust in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. It is in the hard times that Satan will plant seeds of doubt like he did with Eve in the Garden. Do not let this happen. God will get you through.


Second, allow God to work good in your life. Romans 8:28 has been misapplied in many situations, but in your instance it just may apply. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” We do not know how God is working in our lives, often times, until the event is long past. Do not give up on God.


Third, this may be a time of tremendous spiritual growth and strengthening in your life. You probably cannot see it now, but, looking back, you will realize just how close you were to God in prayer and dependence at this time. James 1:2-4 reads, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” Possibly, to be the complete mature Christian that God envisions us to be, we must be refined in the fiery furnace of life.


Fourth, realize that only God can see the big picture for our lives. Like Joseph, when his evil brothers sold him into slavery, we might think our lives are over. Relate to Joseph. He was hated by his brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused of sexual assault, cast into prison, and betrayed by friends in prison. If he had taken his eyes off the Lord, he would have had many reasons to quit and doubt, but he remained faithful. I am confident that there were lonely nights in that jail cell where questions and doubts ran through his mind, but look at the end of the story. After the death of Jacob, when his brothers feared retaliation from Joseph, who had become second in power in all of Egypt, he said to them, “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day …”(Genesis 50:20).


These are just basic spiritual principles that hopefully and prayerfully will help us stay faithful to God and survive the hard times of life when they come our way. 


In His Service, Mike. –PO Box 107, Mannington, WV 26582. preachermiker@verizon.net


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