What Did I Do?

 It's easy to think you did something wrong or are somehow responsible for bad things happening. That's not the case, but many caregivers feel like they don't have the right amount of faith, don't trust God enough, or did something to bring calamity on themselves or their loved ones. I sure felt that way when my son had his wreck. The church didn't help much when they couldn't pray the prayer of faith to raise him up either. Lots of questions, huh?

We brought Jeremiah up last week, and the fact that one of our staple verses we like to use, especially when things don't make sense, was written to the exiles. Jeremiah 29:11-14 reassured the exiles that God still had a good plan for them, even if they couldn't see it or understand it. 

Think about it for a minute, that there were some notable, good people in exile. Daniel was an exile living in the Babylonian captivity. He didn't do anything to be put in that position. Neither did the three Hebrew children who were thrown into the fiery furnace. 

Then there were other key characters who were living in exile. Nehemiah, who came back to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, was one. Ezra, the priest and scribe, was in exile. 

None of these guys could have prayed their way out of exile. What we do see them do, though, is trust God in the middle of their trials.

At first, I sure thought God was going to come riding in on a white horse to rescue us and raise my son up. It sure didn't happen that way. Caregivers didn't "do" anything to "cause" all of our this to happen... It's just part of life, and God still has good plans for us!

Daniel, Nehemiah, Ezra, and the three furnace walkers could not have said the right prayer or recited the right verse to make their situations go away. But they did know how to continue to trust God, and we can follow suit!

Today, I will remind myself that I didn't do anything to cause life's tragedy. I couldn't have prevented it. I'll turn my thoughts away from myself and shift them to the God who carries me through the struggles. My focus will be on the One who sustains me through the trials and carries me as needed. I will instruct my heart to be thankful for a God who walks with me through this fire. I'm grateful for the One who swims beside me through the floods and shows up when I give up. I'll remind myself that He's got me and will not let go. He will not leave me stranded in this fiery trial. I know I can trust Him for one more day. Will you join me?

Check out my latest release. Command Your Morning is a 31-day devotional that is focused on taking charge of your soul and day in the morning and trusting God that the rest of the day will follow suit! You can get the eBook from my shop at Buy Me A Coffee. Or the print and Kindle versions are now available in my Amazon Shop.