Praising Jesus Through Life’s Storms: Trusting God When Life Gets Hard - iBelieve Truth: A Devotional for Women - September 11, 2025
"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being" (Revelation 4:11).
Throughout this year, I've been faced with trouble after trouble. This year has been one of my life's most challenging years. While it has been challenging, I have learned many things about God, life, and myself. Even though bad things will try to destroy us, we can actually see them as a learning opportunity. If we never went through hard times, we would never appreciate the beauty of a day without pain or hardship.
Over the course of this year, I have been in and out of doctors' appointments, and this has caused me to lose hope in God. I blamed Him for my struggles, and I thought He was bringing all of these problems upon my life. After a few months of my original symptoms starting, I realized none of this was God's fault. God doesn't repay us as our sins deserve (Psalm 103:10-14).
Instead, He extends limitless mercy, love, and forgiveness to us.
Similar to many people, I was told that if you do bad things, bad things will happen in your life, and if you do good things, good things will happen in your life. Mind you, all of these things were told to me by Christians. However, upon reflecting on these teachings, I have found them to be unbiblical. If anything, this type of ideology promotes the belief in karma.
If we do good, good will return to us, and if we do bad, bad things will return to us. This comes from a belief in karma. While I'm not sure how the belief in karma has infiltrated the church, it has become a common belief among Christians. The good news is that karma is not real. If it were, we would all be doomed to face terrible days for the rest of our lives.
If we were repaid for the evil we do, none of us would ever smile again. As it is, God is always pouring blessings upon our life because He loves us. The Gospel itself goes against the idea of karma because God sent His Son, Jesus, to die for our sins (John 3:16-17). Jesus died on the cross, not because we deserved it, but rather because He loves us. And ultimately, this is why the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit do not repay us as our sins deserve.
Out of God's great love, we are not consumed (Lamentations 3:22-23). During my intense struggles this year, I learned that God was not cursing me for my actions nor was He condemning me. Instead, the pain and suffering I was going through resulted from living in this fallen world. Due to living in a fallen world, we will get sick, and some of us will have chronic health conditions. This doesn't mean God has caused the problem because He hasn't.
Each time we face a problem, we must remember that God loves us. He didn't bring this problem into our lives. However, He will help us walk through this season of darkness and make us stronger on the other side. We might feel weak now, but this darkness will not endure forever. Hope and health will be restored to our bones, and we will smile again.
The Bible tells us, "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being" (Revelation 4:11). Similar to this passage, we can praise Jesus despite the storms in our lives. Even if everything feels as though it is falling apart, we can still praise Him. He is our good and wonderful Savior, who deserves all the praise, glory, and recognition.
There will come a day when all pain will end. We will reflect on our hardest days and see God has always been with us. He has never left us, and He never will. During our darkest and stormiest days, He is right there beside us. Lean into His love, comfort, and peace. Rest in the knowledge that He will walk you through this time and comfort your soul.
"Dear Jesus, I praise You. Even in the midst of this storm, I know You are with me. I had been angry at you in the past, but now I know that it was never your fault. You don't repay me as my sins deserve, and I praise You for this. Help me walk through this season of darkness with confidence, peace, and hope, knowing that You are right there beside me. In Your Name I pray, Amen."
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Related Resource: How Faith Finds Us When Life Takes a Detour
Joining us this week is worship leader turned viral comedian Heather Land. After growing up in the shadow of her mother’s decades-long addiction, Heather reflects on how this painful season—alongside her unexpected shift from the worship stage to the world of comedy—taught her that while our paths may take unforeseen turns, our core calling to encourage and uplift others remains constant.
Later in the episode, we’ll hear from Rachel Kessler, an Episcopal priest and Kenyon College chaplain who completed her PhD in medieval studies at the University of Toronto before pivoting to seminary after hitting academic burnout, then built a following as the “Nerdy Priest” on TikTok after a student secretly downloaded the app on her phone.
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