Pathways Press.com

Written by Jennifer Tucker, a contemporary writer. This is an excerpt from her book “Breath Prayer.”

At the root of my fear is a lack of trust in the heart of God. When the story of my life isn’t unfolding the way I thought it would, when a season of suffering lingers longer than I think I can bear, when the news is too bad and bills are too high and tasks are too hard and the pain is too much — when everything looks lost and nothing seems right — it can be hard to see or understand the heart of God. And it’s difficult to trust what we don’t understand. But His ways are not at all like ours. There is always more happening than we can see. Just look at Jesus: the Hope of the world born in the form of a vulnerable infant, the way of salvation forged through significant suffering. What looked like utter death and defeat on the cross was really the way to ultimate life and salvation. What looked like the end was really the beginning of all things being made new. So that hard thing we don’t understand? That pain we fear may break us? It may turn out to be the tool for our rescue. The storm that threatens to drown us may actually be the path to freedom. When we shift the way we see our suffering and trust the heart of God, we can let go of fear and be filled with peace because we know that He is working even if we don’t understand.

See, God has come to save me. I will trust in Him and not be afraid. The Lord God is my strength and my song; He has given me victory. [Isaiah 12:2]