There Is A God

There's a new country song out called There Is A God and it is, quite frankly, a really good song. I first heard it while doing Zumba (it was the cool down) and somehow I managed to both stretch and listen to the words at the same time. Apparently miracles truly never cease!

Most of the lyrics pertained to things that happen when you know, without a doubt, that there is a God. When you see a baby's heartbeat on an ultrasound. When the doctor can't explain it but the cancer is gone. The gist was that all you must do to know He is real is look around.

Shortly after, I was watching Nightline with Tonto (does that mean we're old?) and they were interviewing the parents of Baby Lisa, the 11-month-old who disappeared from her crib recently. Though I have no idea how this happened or whether the parents were involved (and really don't care as long as the baby is found), one thing the mother said struck me. When asked if she thought they would see Lisa again, she replied, "Yes, I know we will because there is still a God."

And that got me to thinking...

Yes, there is a God. And He is mighty and powerful and omniscient and good all the time. He cannot help but be. He is for us and can overpower anything or anyone that comes against us. If He so chooses. If it is in His plan. If it will further His name and/or our purpose.

But there was still a God when my baby's heart stopped beating on the ultrasound. There is still a God when people's loved ones die untimely and unexplainable deaths. There was most definitely a God when Taylor broke her elbow requiring emergency surgery, 14 months of rehab and endured much pain and suffering. He is still there when people are going through unfathomable hardships of many kinds be it financial, health, relational, etc.

We all mourned after the 9/11 attack but, guess what? The tragedy was unexplainable and ripped at the hearts of many. And there was still a God. And He was still reigning on high when my friend, Brandi, went to be with Him almost a year ago after a long battle with breast cancer. He's still with her precious children and her husband.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that buying into the notion that all we have to do is look around at the good things going on in the world to know for sure that He is real, simply isn't enough. Why? Because He also works things that are meant for our harm into good. 

Though we've walked through some serious valleys this year, He's still been with us every second. Even when I was angry and bitter and made the choice not to see what He was doing through our situation, He was still there. No question.

And I can assure you we have had some wonderful experiences this year and our relationships have grown deeper through the loss of our child. The same can absolutely be said about Taylor's elbow injury and Tonto's many knee surgeries, procedures and therapy. None of these things may have happened otherwise.

Perhaps I'm just being overly sensitive or picking apart some random comments and lyrics but if I've learned anything in the last six months, it's that pain and trouble can (and probably will) happen even when we're in His will. Truth be told, that's one of the biggest thing I've wrestled with because I've done a lot of things myself - completely outside of His will - through the years that caused me immense pain and had devastating consequences.

But that wasn't the case this year. 

We didn't do anything to cause this trouble that ripped our hearts in two. We were in church, serving others, studying His word and living out what we believe are callings on our lives.

Are we perfect? No, absolutely not. But we also weren't caught up in a stronghold of sin.

And our baby still died. 

But there is still a God, friends. And I know this - without a doubt - because there's no way I would still be standing - much less finding joy - today if there wasn't...