Never Alone: God's Presence in Hard Times

This has been a great week for me, and I hope you too, for digging deep into God’s word and focusing on being intentional about my gratitude. I feel like we have had some great discussions about when and where God is in good times and in bad. But there’s a little something more I’d like to talk about. You see, it’s easy for us to feel alone when we are suffering and going through hard times and it’s easy to feel like God isn’t with us then. But the truth is He’s right there beside us through the good times and hard times. His Word says He will never leave us or forsake us. The word never means NEVER. Not even for a moment are we alone. God loves it when we use difficult times to seek out and learn about his grace and nature. We learn how he leads us to where we didn’t know we’d go and how he protects us. Think about this for a minute. Go back and think about some of the disappointments that you’ve had in your life. Maybe you lost a job and because of it, you found a new career that led to a new life you never dreamed you’d have. Maybe you lost a loved and the loss brought people together that haven’t spoken in years and maybe never would have. Maybe seeing the effect that loved one had on others helped drive someone to find Jesus...You see God is never not beside us and every situation isn’t God-free. He’s going to use everything around you in some shape or form to further his love for you. We face opportunities to remember God’s faithfulness in the hard things every day. As we shift our focus from what’s not, we can better see what is. He is there, in the middle of the hard thing you’re walking through right now. You just have to be looking for Him. And when you see Him, shift your focus. “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!”Psalms 118:1 Be Nice, Grace Wins.