Today I couldn’t figure out why the gym was empty on a Saturday at the normal time when it should be full. Tonight I was reminded why – Father’s Day is tomorrow.
For many, this Father’s day will be a joyous day as many spend time with their earthly fathers and grandfathers and extended fathers. However, there are also many who will not be having a good day. For example, my cousin’s father recently passed away suddenly. This is going to be a very hard day for my cousin and her family, as it will be the first Father’s Day which they have spent without their father alive.
However, there are also many out there who do have a father or mother but whom are not around, or the relationship is broken. Many families are broken by divorce. Some fathers may be dying of a terminal illness, or old age. Others may be absentee fathers, while still others may have hostile relationships. Father’s day for some may be a time of argument, anger, and hostility, rather than love, joy, and celebration.
Despite all of this, there is something very important to remember. While we cannot always directly change our external circumstances, we can change our hearts and attitudes. The Bible tells us exactly how to do that, to overcome difficultly even in the midst of a storm.
Joy in God isn’t having a so-called perfect life by worldly standards, with a mother, father, and 1.5 siblings in a nice roomy house with a white picket fence in a friendly neighborhood in the suburbs; but joy in God is feeling like your life is perfect despite its inevitable turbulence. This is what occurs when you always rely on God for strength, to which God will reward you with peace and joy in every circumstance. Ultimately, you will find that when you rest your hope in God instead of yourself or the world, that every difficulty always works out in the end. You could save yourself the stress of worrying about it in the middle, by simply trusting God that He will provide. It may not be easy in the meantime, but by trusting God for strength, He will build in us the necessary character and perseverance to overcome any circumstance.
Life is not always going to be perfect no matter who you are or how big your family is or how much money you have. However, God never promises life will be perfect. What God does promise us is that if we look to Him in all we do, we will always be able to overcome every situation joyfully and with many blessings. We do not have because we do not ask, and we ask but do not receive because we ask with the wrong motivations. But when we do walk in the ways of righteousness and stay close to God, following His laws, not only will we have what we asked for but even much more, in this life and the life to come.
Once you realize that when you put your hope in God and you trust Him wholeheartedly to provide, no matter what the world throws at you, suddenly whatever circumstance you run into doesn’t matter because you know in your heart it is going to work out in the end anyway, because God promises that it will if you trust in Him and give your life and heart to God in all you do.
Take these verses to heart and memorize them. Remember these verses when difficult times come.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)
If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. (Psalm 91:9-16)
You do not have, because you do not ask. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. (James 4:2-3)
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
This command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’ (Jeremiah 7:23)
When a man’s ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. (Proverbs 16:7)
Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.” (Mark 10:29-30)
Notice a common theme among these verses. In order to receive protection, guidance, direction, assistance, strength, and blessings, God requires you to follow His commands as laid out in the Bible. Good works are required.
God won’t give these things to you if you are walking in sinfulness or pride. God requires humility, submission, and obedience. Upon doing so, God will reward you with all that you desire and more. So do not fear – put your trust and hope and faith in God to provide for you, humble yourselves, pray, and submit to God, and follow all of God’s laws, and God will reward you and bless you richly.