God is...

For the past few weeks,  I have been in contact with four or five young girls who are struggling with deep issues in their lives.  One has told me she has tried God and it didn't work.  Another can quote scripture to me but has not been in church since she was a child.   Another one tells me she is mad at God.  She blames Him for her current rebellion.  Another is dealing with the loss of her mother and trying to stay strong in the Lord but is at a very dry place in her life. 

Two of these girls are dealing with sexual abuse that happened before the age of 15.  Both have been doing drugs to cover the pain they can't deal with.  Two have lost their mothers before the age of 18.  Another, was given up for adoption at birth and is struggling to find her true identity.  To cope with her feelings of uncertainty, she finds comfort in alcohol.  One young girl I have been talking to is 15.  She has a baby who is over a year old and is in foster care.  She says she has not had anything to drink in about four months and is trying to get her life on track again.  

Sometimes, all I can do is listen to these young woman when they call me or email me.  I cannot take away the sorrow they are feeling, but I can tell them what God has done for me.  Hearing what God has done in the life of someone else, often encourages us and we realize if He did it for them, He can do it for us.   Sometimes, all we need to know is that someone has been there and we are not alone in what we are going through.  

As we walk through the pages of the Bible... we read story after story of God's faithfulness.  As we read the scriptures and get to know Him... He is our lifeline. He is our hope.  He is our joy, He is our peace.  He is our contentment, He loves us.  He has always been with us, through every trial and every sorrow.  He has guided us through the darkness of night and the deep depression that overcomes us at times.  He was with David, Ruth, Paul, John, Job, Peter, James, Martha, Mary.  He is... and always will be.  The hope that we have is through Jesus and our relationship with Him.  He is...

This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all.  1 John 1:5 

This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in His presence whenever our hearts condemn us.  For God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything. 1 John 3:19-20

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.  God is love.  Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.  1 John 4:16