Today’s scripture reading is Isaiah 55.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. -Isaiah 55:9 NRSV
As I read the scripture for today, Steven Curtis Chapman’s song “Higher Ways” came to mind. It’s a song about trusting in God’s higher ways when adversity strikes.
The song came out while I was in college, during a time in my life when I was questioning God and my faith. My father, an alcoholic, had decided to get help for his addiction. During a routine physical examination as part of his treatment, he was diagnosed with leukemia.
I was so angry at God. It didn’t seem fair that a man trying to get his life in order would be told that he was dying. My dad and I had never been especially close but his illness strengthened our relationship. Because we knew that he was dying, we made the most of our moments. I’m not sure this would have happened had we not known about the disease.
Over and over again in my life, I’ve seen God use something awful to do something wonderful. I don’t begin to understand why things happen the way they happen and I’m not prepared to say that what happens is always the will of God. What I will say is that God can use anything that happens for good. So when adversity strikes, my prayer is to trust in God. It’s not always easy but it is always my prayer.
Might you need to offer that prayer today? Oh how I pray that God grants you the grace to trust in times of adversity.
