God is STILL with You in the midst of it all!

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11

One of my bucket list wishes is to see a real, God-made waterfall. The beauty of seeing the rushing water falling into a calm river gives me peace. However, the view of the waterfall is extremely different when you’re in a boat heading directly towards it. No matter how hard you try to paddle away from the roaring waters, the quicker your boat moves towards the danger. You, the boat, and the paddle are thrown over the edge.

Dealing with life is synonymous with rowing a boat towards a beautiful, yet dangerous waterfall. At first, everything is beautiful and peaceful. And within moments, your peace turns into a life-threating situation.  It’s like taking a walk on a beautiful, sunny day. And halfway through your walk, the sky turns black, a rainstorm crops up, and you don’t have an umbrella! Yeah, that’s ….life!

Life happens to everyone. There are no guarantees that things will turn out the way we plan it.  Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” God told Jeremiah to tell this to the folks WHILE they were in captivity. Although things appeared to be bad (and they were), but God didn’t forget about them. He still had a plan and purpose for them. In other words, God was STILL with them. Their situation was necessary for their future elevation.

In the midst of what you are going through, God is STILL with you. He has not forgotten about you. His Word says, He will NEVER leave you nor forsake you. When you feel like you are at your loneliest and lowest level of despair, God is STILL with you. Not only is God with you in the midst of it all, but He will also protect you, “The lord will keep you from all harm. He will watch over your life. The Lord will watch over your coming and going, both now and forevermore” (Psalm 121:7-8).

 You must know that everything that happens in life is for a purpose. Paul said, “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:3-5). Now…if Paul was sitting next to you, some of you would probably jack-slap him because your spirit refused to accept what your ears heard. But Woman of God, it’s the truth! The reason we can survive our “over-the-edge” life-challenging moments is because God is STILL with us in the midst of it all. It is only in Him and through Him that we obtain favor and hope.  

Let’s get back to the story of going over the edge of the waterfall. What if you survived the fall? Yes, you ALMOST drowned. Yes, it was scary. Yes, you broke a leg. But you SURVIVED! Do you get up and complain about your broken leg? Or do you praise God for saving your life? Charles Swindoll said, “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” Swindoll). Your response to life is directly connected to what you know about God. Know this…God is STILL with you in the midst of it all.

For His glory….

Written by Sandra Kelley 3/7/2024