Sometimes we can think that God should reward us for our hard work. The more energy and time we give Him, the more good stuff He should give us in return, right?

That’s not how a guy in my church sees it. Even though he loves Jesus, he has suffered more than most—going through cancer, seeing loved ones die and getting major injuries from a drunk driver. But his motto is: “Don’t confuse God with life.”

When things are hard, stuff is going wrong or I’m just totally confused by what God’s doing, I often turn to Romans 8. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” asked Paul. “Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?” (V.35). In that one sentence Paul summed up his whole life. He went through many trials because he lived for Jesus; yet somehow he was able to keep trusting that these terrible things—surely not good in themselves—could be used by God for good. He had learned to see past the problems and pain to a loving God who will one day return in victory. He wrote, “I am convinced that [nothing] will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (VV.38-39).

Confidence like that can do a lot to help us keep going when life doesn’t work out the way we want.

By: Philip Yancey

To Pray About . . .

Lord, I want to trust in You, no matter the circumstances in my life. I know You are the One who began a good work in me and You will carry it on to completion.