Starting at the Beginning

This post is the first of many for those of you who are currently grieving. You're here looking for hope, and wondering if that's even possible. And I promise it is. You just have to look in the right Place!

I was a bit hesitant to start off here, but the honest truth is that if I don't start here, nothing that follows will be helpful. Maybe you've read my first two My Journey posts? If you haven't yet, I suggest you click here and read them first, then come back. I'll wait...

I expect that at this point you've started noticing a bit of a theme to my promises of hope and healing: they are all based in God and his promises. For many of you, that is the exact last place you want to be pointed to. God has failed you in a big way. He has promised you many things, and right now none of those things feel true. Or maybe you've never believed any of that junk, and how on earth would now be the time to start??

Because I can say with confidence it is your only hope for relief.

The first thing to realize is that what you are experiencing is not from God. He did not do this to you. In Job 2:10, Job says to his wife, "Shall we accept good from God and shall we not receive evil?" Note, he does not say "evil from God." He readily admits that all good is from God, but points out to his wife that this is not where evil originates. God does allow it, but He does not cause it.

So now you're asking, "Why does He even allow it?! That is absolutely not loving, and He says over and over again how loving He is." The answer has two parts:

First of all, it was never intended for us to suffer. We brought it upon ourselves. When Adam and Eve sinned (Genesis 3:6), they brought sin into the world for everyone else (Romans 5:12). We live in a world surrounded by and defined by sin, suffering, pain... it's obvious. And God never intended it that way. We broke fellowship with Him, a loving God who wants the best for us, and yet....

He chose to make a way for us to restore fellowship with Him. He didn't have to, but He did. He sent His only Son to live a perfect life and to die on our behalf (Romans 3:16, Isaiah 53:6). To restore fellowship with God, all we must do is admit that we are sinners, admit that we need a Savior, and put our faith in the risen Jesus (Luke 24) as our only hope for salvation. Then, we can be restored with God and claim the promise of life in him and eternal life in heaven.

And then, all those promises the Bible claims can be real to us. He asks only that we accept the salvation He has offered, as a free gift. Nothing is beyond His capability to heal. I really can say that as an absolute.

I so long for each of you to experience this healing as I have. I honestly do not know how I would've dealt with this grief without God. To me, it seems impossible. He is truth, and He is life (John 14:6).

If you have any questions, please contact me. I would love to hear from you and tell you more about the God who has been my strength and salvation!

#Christ #hope #grief #grieving #thebrokeninside #bindingthebroken