I believe the things God says in the Bible. I’ve seen the promises of God be a loud “yes” and “amen” in my own life. But I’m an emotional person. Shout out to my Enneagram 3s and 4s. So sometimes when I read accounts in the Bible I have to pause to have a little emotional moment with God.
Like the other day. I was reading about David’s wives (<– another topic of conversation for another day) being captured. It’s in 1 Samuel 30 if you want to take a minute to read it. And here’s what got me all in a mini-tizzy.
Why allow painful things to happen?
David’s wives, along with all the other women and children in the city, were taken captive when David’s enemies raided. So when David and all the other warrior men got back from battle, the men were furious with David. They wanted to stone him. They blamed him. They were “bitter in soul” for their wives and children.
Hang with me.
It says that David “strengthened himself in the LORD his God” when everyone talked about killing him. And he asked God if God would give him favor to overtake the enemy and rescue the women and children. God said, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue.” (1 Samuel 30:8)
Wait. What? This is what got me all worked me. WHY EVEN LET THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN BE TAKEN IN THE FIRST PLACE?! I was all, “Lord! If You knew You would give David favor to get the women and children back safely, why did You even let it happen in the first place?! Why not just NOT let all the drama take place?!”
Emotional much?
And it felt like God whispered to me, “Because, Lara, it’s through the process of life that you experience My promises.”
Pause and think on that for a minute. Because I had to.
It’s through the process of life we experience the promises of God.
Sure, God could have stopped the enemy from raiding David’s camp. He could have. He’s God. With everything in me I truly believe that the same God who spoke a word and worlds formed still reigns. And He can do an.y.thing He wants to do. So He could have stopped the raid. But He didn’t.
Because it’s through the process of life we experience the promises of God.
There are so many trials I’ve walked through in my life where I could say, “Lord, if you knew this would end up well in the end, why even allow it to happen.” But it’s through the process of walking through the trials by faith that I’ve been changed. It’s through the process that my faith has grown. It’s through the process that I’ve experienced God’s promises.
Without financial strain, would we truly experience God’s promise to provide?
Without the betrayal of man, would we truly experience the sufficiency of God’s acceptance through Christ?
Without human weakness and frailty, would we truly experience God’s promise of strength?
I had to sit with that thought for a bit. Because the process of life can be so hard. The process is often painful and something we would never have chosen.
But what if the process is the point. What if the process actually holds the promises of God, waiting to be poured out on us as we walk our journey by faith.
How about you? What promise of God are you experiencing as you walk through your own process of life?
