By AL EARLEY

Life is hard, and it is not fair. This is a fact of life in a fallen world. People don’t like that this is true. They pretend that we can change it, but nothing we do can. This is what George found out the hard way. He thought he had life figured out, and everything was going great. He was a successful publisher for church materials, had a beautiful home, great family, and then it all collapsed. His wife said she no longer loved him, and left him for another man.

The more he tried to cope the worse things seemed to become. One day while delivering a job to a church he arrived early and went to the fellowship hall. As he waited for his appointment he started thinking about suicide. He thought such things as, “My life is over, and I have nothing to live for. Nothing I do makes me feel better. I just want to end it all.” He put his face in his hands and wept, his mind working on ways to end it all.

Then he looked up and saw an old faded poster on the far wall. The poster was of a man in despair like himself. George studied the poster and noticed in the lower right corner were three crosses.

Beneath the center cross were the words, “I know how you feel; I’ve been there myself.” God used that old poster to start rebuilding George’s life. George dropped to his knees and started praying, and remembered the words to Philippians 4:13, “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

George started living for God, and God brought him through the moment of his greatest trial.

That is the kind of God we worship. God is the very definition of what faithfulness is. Just look at the stories of Gideon (Judges 6), David (especially I Samuel 17), and Hezekiah (II Kings 19), just to name a few. We have a great collection of how the faithfulness of God inspired the faith of many of the great people of the Old Testament in Hebrews 11.

When we are going through difficult times in our lives, and learning the hard truth that life is hard, and it is not fair, God’s faithfulness may be the one thing we can count on. Do not be afraid to start trusting in God no matter what, especially when you are going through hard times. Too many people run away from God and His church in their times of need, thinking God has let them down somehow. God never does this, but He does do things in ways we can’t imagine or anticipate. God deeply desires to grow your faith and demonstrate His faithfulness.

Another way God likes to deepen our faith and demonstrate His faithfulness is to give us a “God sized task”. Have you ever heard the voice of God whisper to your soul with a message to do something bigger than yourself? These tasks will stretch us further than we have ever been stretched, and usually require us to relinquish control to God to accomplish them because they are too big for us. The measure of our faith will be tested as God will want us to trust Him to be faithful, but God is not going to make it easy. Take a look at any of the stories I referenced above from the Bible. In all of them God waited until the last moment to act, thus forcing each person to realize how faithful God was, at the same time God was forcing their faith to grow stronger and deeper.

Are you going through a difficult time and need the power of God to rebuild some or all of your life? Have you ever gotten on your knees and prayed to God with your struggles and seen Him miraculously change your circumstances? Is life real comfortable right now, but there is this sense that God is trying to call you out to serve Him in a new and challenging way? Are you ready to find out just how faithful God can be? It is one of God’s great joys to shower down His faithfulness upon us at just the right moment, that our faith will be stretched, and we will see God’s glory.

To find out more about Al Earley or read previous articles, visit lagrangepres.com.