Some hope to hold on to when life spins out of control.

Sometimes life is hard. Your teenager goes off the rails. Your husband loses his job. The doctor gives you some news you didn’t want to hear. I know. I’ve been there, in all those situations, and having lived through many dark nights of the soul, I’ve discovered one all-important truth.

God is good.

Hold on, now. I hear you. “But Michelle, that’s just a stupid platitude. It doesn’t mean anything because God doesn’t always answer. He’s not like a cosmic vending machine that you can toss in a prayer quarter and out pops a ‘good’ answer to solve your crisis.”

 I beg to differ. Let’s look at this from a different angle. What if God did answer your prayer with a ‘good’ answer, but your definition of good was way different than His?

Maybe healing wasn’t the best outcome because if you persevered through your sickness it would teach a nurse to hope in God once again. Or maybe your teenager needs to hit the bottom so he can cry out to God. Or a lost job and no income forces you to depend upon God alone.

Here’s the deal: You, little human, see only a very small part of an eternal picture. What God does or doesn’t do in your life is up to Him, not you, and that’s not a comfortable truth. It wasn’t comfortable for the Israelites, either, when Pharaoh’s troops surrounded them on three sides and the Red Sea blocked them on the other. They had every right to be scared, but God told them this:

The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.
(Exodus 14:14 NIV)

The LORD himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.
(Exodus 14:14 NLT)

The LORD will fight for you, and you won't have to do a thing.
(Exodus 14:14 CEV)

So today, in whatever awful situation you may find yourself, print out those verses and follow God’s advice. He will fight for you, in ways you can’t possibly imagine, because this one thing I know…

God is good. No matter what happens, He’s got your back because He’s the one who created it in the first place.

Here’s a little visual I use when things start spinning out of control. Imagine a ballroom. Rich and important people are there. Crystal chandeliers shining down on gowns and suits of rich hues. You are on that dance floor, and it’s Jesus himself who’s holding you in his arms. Suddenly the music ramps up into a crazed meter and everyone is spinning and it seems like chaos. Even though you’re whirling about and your feet don’t know all the steps, give in and rest your head against Jesus’s chest and close your eyes. He knows this dance. He will see you safely through it.

“If God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you.” Luke 12:28