25th.: Sometimes Life is Just Hard
It almost goes without saying that God does not always do as people want Him to do.
Once, Jesus gave this message to his hometown.
“… many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias (aka Elijah the prophet), when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land. But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus (a.k.a. Elisha the prophet), and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.” (Luke 4:25-27).
The people of Nazareth then tried to kill Jesus (Luke 4:28-29).
In our times, sometimes a loved one (e.g. a child) dies, even though we prayed to have him cured.
Therefore, let us not ‘kill God’, when He does not do as we ask.
Rather, let us receive what the apostle Paul learned,
“Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds by Christ.” (2nd Cor. 1:3-5).
God says that he will comfort us, when our prayers are not answered in the way that we want them to be answered.
Then once we get through the tough time, we can help others through difficult times.
“We exalt in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation works patience.” (Rom. 5:3)