"The eternal God is your Refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He thrusts out your enemies before you..." (Deuteronomy 33-27, LB)."...with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles" (2 Chronicles 32:8, KJV).
Susan was broken-hearted. She had just lost her first child at birth. The trauma of that experience had affected her relationship with her husband and with everyone else around her. She had become cynical and moody. She blamed God for what had happened and said, "I hate Him. Why would this happen to me? Where was God when I was going through the birth pangs, the excruciating pain of giving birth to a stillborn child? Why didn't He give me a healthy baby?"
I was reminded of a statement that I had heard in response to a similar anguished plea: "Where was God when I lost my son?"
The answer: "Where He was when His own Son died on the cross for our sins."
We do not understand the mystery of why God allows tragedy, heartache and sorrow, but we do know that those who trust the eternal God as their refuge will experience the reality of His promise that "underneath are the everlasting arms."
Sometime later I talked with a godly Christian leader whose son had just taken his own life. Of course this man and his wife were devastated. Their hearts were broken. But what a difference in their reaction. Even through his tears this great Christian was saying, "I know I can trust God. He is a loving God. He is my refuge, and I feel His strength and compassion and care for me and my loved ones. My wife and I and all of our family are rededicating ourselves to Him as an expression of our love and confidence in His trustworthiness."
TODAY'S ACTION POINT: As an expression of my confidence in God and His love and faithfulness I will make a special effort to visualize those everlasting arms of love spread out beneath me, ready for any fall I may take, like a giant net below a trapeze artist. That will give me courage in the face of every obstacle and assurance despite my weaknesses.
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