Do you want the vacation planner, Jesus? You know, the one who promises to take you away to a life that is always easy, always fun with no problems. The romantic comedy life that you’ve always dreamed of. Okay, well, that Jesus doesn’t exist. The real Jesus is not your travel agent to a paradise on earth. He’s your sovereign savior, King.
And sometimes his best plan for you includes suffering. Not to hurt you, but to prepare you for eternal joy that will never end. Stick with me. This is going to change the way you see your trials. And don’t forget to subscribe to the Kirk Cameron Show. Turn on the notification bell so you never miss an episode.
How do you measure God’s goodness? Do you measure it by how little you suffer? If you do, well, then you’re probably going to conclude he’s not very good um or or not very good at keeping bad things away from you. If you measure God’s love by how easy your life feels, then you’re going to start to think that he doesn’t love you.
If you measure God’s faithfulness by how much disappointment or how much grief you’ve had to endure in your life, you’re going to begin to question whether God is faithful at all. So here’s the bottom line. You and I will suffer in this life. And it’s not because God’s plan has failed. It’s not because he doesn’t love us, but because our suffering is actually an essential part of God’s good plan for you and for me.
So when life seems to be falling apart, when you’re disappointed, when you experience loss or fear or pain, unexpected challenges come knocking on your door, that is not evidence that God has forgotten you. It’s not proof that he doesn’t care. It it doesn’t mean that he is favoring other people instead of you. And it doesn’t mean that he’s not hearing your prayers.
All of those moments are not outside of God’s plan for you. They are his plan. That’s what he tells us in his word. God uses hardships as the instruments and tools of his rescuing, transforming grace. Listen to what Acts chapter 20 tells us. Now, this is Paul’s uh adventure and evangelistic journey to all of these countries in the known world to preach the gospel.
And listen to what he says in uh Acts 20 17- 24. He says, “But when we landed at Myletus, he sent a message. I don’t know where Myus is. Uh but he sent a message to the elders at at the church of Ephesus.” That’s where we get the book of Ephesians. Asking them to come and meet him. And when they arrived, he declared, “You know that from the day I set foot in the providence of Asia until now, I have done the Lord’s work humbly and with many tears, I’ve endured the trials that came to me from the plots of the Jews. I never shrank back from telling
you what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your homes.” I mean, Paul is speaking with boldness and courage in the face of danger, speaking truth to power. He said, ‘Ive had one message for the Jews and the Greeks alike. The necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God and having faith in our Lord Jesus. He’s not a chameleon.
