Our desire is for God to fix broken things. But God’s desire for us is to fix our relationship with him. There.

The answer to our whys may be obvious now, or they may never be answered in our lifetime. But even if we knew why, it’s likely we wouldn’t be satisfied with the answers anyway.

James is saying that when the trials of life happen, we need to hold on to God. It’s an opportunity for us to look in the dark for the less obvious blessings and mercies of God that we might overlook in the light. When we do, God shows us things that we otherwise might miss. God’s light is brightest in the dark.

The whole world could be against your husband, but as long as you are for him, you give him wings. And if the whole world is for him, but you’re against him, it’s like pouring concrete in his shoes.

I no longer believe the myth that trials are a curse. Trials are an opportunity. They are an invitation to do good works to glorify our Father in heaven, to transform our lives from the inside out, and to drive us into the arms and footsteps of Jesus.

Reflecting back on those memories, I realized I learned not only my love of music in church, but also my theology through those hymns. It was through the lyrics we sang that I learned who God was and the attributes of his character.

God sent Jesus not only to redeem people but to redeem all things. So just as Jesus came to heal our broken relationship with God, he also came to heal the consequences of the broken world we live in.

Have you guys really prayed about this?” “Have you prayed in faith for him to be healed?” They imply that we haven’t prayed long or hard enough, used the right words, or sufficiently trusted God, and that’s why Martin wasn’t healed. In those moments, I want to respond, “Oh, faith! That’s a great idea! We should try that. Until now, we’ve haven’t been praying in faith, we’ve been praying in the sandbox!

Many caretakers don’t feel appreciated. They feel unloved. They work so hard to care for someone but feel disrespected. When I point them to Scripture, they often feel like the Bible is another rule book they can never live up to. They think the reason this hard thing is happening to them is because they have failed God in some way – they didn’t pray enough, read enough Scripture, serve enough, or have morning quiet times.

God wants to restore our relationship with him more than anything else. Though he loves us, he’ll allow us to feel the pain of this world’s unhealed hurts if it brings us closer to him.