Kathy Chiu
I was browsing through my news feed on Facebook the other day and came across a couple of sayings that I shared with my friends.
“On particularly rough days when I’m sure I can’t possibly endure, I like to remind myself that my track record for getting through bad days so far is 100 per cent — and that’s pretty good.”
This made me sit back and reflect on the many “bad days” I’ve had in my life. Some were longer than “days” and were actual seasons in my life that I felt lost, a little low on faith and downright tired. So, when I saw the next one, I had to just laugh, because it described how I felt.
“They say that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. At this point, I should be able to bench-press a Buick!”
We sing a song in church that says no matter what happens, blessed be the Lord. In good times, when we’re experiencing streams of abundance, and then when we’re in the desert place and walking through the wilderness, blessed be the Lord.
I sing those words. I believe those words. But I can’t say I practise those words. I want to be the kind of person who walks the talk, but the reality is when darkness comes and I’m found in my desert place, I’m more apt to accuse God of making me suffer. I tend to resort to my childhood belief that somehow God is a God of punishment and reward. If you live a good life — He’ll bless you. However, if you screw up, God will punish you.
Singer Toni Braxton wrote in her book, Unbreak My Heart, that she feels God punished her for having an abortion, which is why her son was born with autism. Being brought up in a strict religious home taught her to fear God, so it’s no surprise she came to that conclusion.
When we fail to understand the true nature and enormous love and grace of God, our mistakes cause us to run from God, we turn our backs from him, sometimes running as far as we can get. Even when we know the truth about God’s love and His presence in our lives, we end up hitting the default button when hard times are on us.
The truth about God is, He never promised life would be easy. Actually, the Bible says just the opposite. The Old and New Testaments have very similar things to say — life is hard, the rain falls on everyone, good or bad. However, we don’t want to hear it. We want a God with a capital “G” we can bring our offerings to and have him take care of all our troubles. We want Him to intervene and rescue us. What do we do when no one comes to the rescue and we just have to trudge our way through the hard times? We say there is no God.
The truth is God made a promise to us and it wasn’t to miraculously lift us out of our circumstances. Instead, He walks with us in our circumstances. He’s there to comfort us, He’s there to guide us, direct us and let us know we’re not alone. He does that through the presence of the Holy Spirit and through the ministry of the Church — His people.
“Who will separate us from Christ’s Love? Will we be separated by trouble, or distress, or harassment, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? … nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus!” Romans 8:35, 38
Major Kathy Chiu is a writer, preacher, Salvation Army Officer and the executive director of the Salvation Army Victoria Addictions and Rehabilitation Centre. She is passionate about God’s Word, family and, of course, knitting, and has a regular blog at kathiechiu.com.
