{"id":7135,"date":"2015-05-11T06:00:30","date_gmt":"2015-05-11T10:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=7135"},"modified":"2015-05-05T07:24:48","modified_gmt":"2015-05-05T11:24:48","slug":"feeling-down-discouraged-time-to-put-on-those-spiritual-glasses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2015\/05\/feeling-down-discouraged-time-to-put-on-those-spiritual-glasses.html","title":{"rendered":"Feeling Down, Discouraged? Time to Put on Those Spiritual Glasses"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ID-10066791\"<\/a>A friend’s wife was diagnosed with ALS. Another, lost his wife to cancer and yet another had a son involved in a tragic car accident. When trouble hits, we wonder why. Why doesn’t God do something about disease, evil and all the other problems that seem so prevalent in our world? We know He has the power to act, but often feel he delays or just doesn’t care.<\/p>\n

He does care. To see His caring, we have to put on our spiritual glasses. To cope, we need corrective vision.\u00a0\u00a0The eyes of our heart need to be opened.<\/p>\n

When difficulty comes, we can’t see the big picture and don’t know what God is doing in the depth of our souls. So we need tools to help us make sense of the moment and look below the surface. Three tools help:<\/p>\n

1) The\u00a0Scripture.<\/strong> When we read Scripture, we see the promises of God and remind ourselves that God is trustworthy. Everything He has for us will be accomplished and nothing is being done away from His watchful eye. God is in charge of all the earth, yet it is easy to think that He has abandoned us during dark moments. The best antidote for those feelings of despair is to read His Word and be reminded of his presence, caring and concern for us.<\/p>\n

2) The\u00a0Cross.<\/strong> The cross is where Christ suffered for us. It was part of God’s eternal plan \u00a0in which he established his dominion over\u00a0sin and death so we don’t have to suffer eternally. Jesus ruled over sin and evil so we can experience new life and healing. Jesus has the last word when it comes to disease, evil and all other difficulties. He has overcome!<\/p>\n

3) The Resurrection<\/strong>. Because Jesus rose from the grave and had the power over death, life doesn’t end at the grave. There\u00a0is the hope of a better day, a day with no more suffering or pain. Until then, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us. So keep praying, hoping and asking for healing. Each day, that power beats back the darkness and brings hope.<\/p>\n

So while we suffer here, we use our spiritual glasses to\u00a0look through a corrected lens. God has given us His word to remind us of his promises, the cross to take our judgment, and the resurrection to be victorious over all death, disease and pain. This day isn’t the final day. Even though it may not feel like it, God is in control through the difficulty and will meet you where you are. But put on those glasses to see a little clearer. Live in the hope of tomorrow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A friend’s wife was diagnosed with ALS. Another, lost his wife to cancer and yet another had a son involved in a tragic car accident. When trouble hits, we wonder why. Why doesn’t God do something about disease, evil and all the other problems that seem so prevalent in our world? We know He has…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[916],"tags":[974,628,976,1173,3270,3271],"class_list":["post-7135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-god-relationship","tag-difficulty","tag-disease","tag-life-problems","tag-pain","tag-suffering","tag-trying-times"],"yoast_head":"\nFeeling Down, Discouraged? Time to Put on Those Spiritual Glasses<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2015\/05\/feeling-down-discouraged-time-to-put-on-those-spiritual-glasses.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Feeling Down, Discouraged? Time to Put on Those Spiritual Glasses\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A friend’s wife was diagnosed with ALS. Another, lost his wife to cancer and yet another had a son involved in a tragic car accident. When trouble hits, we wonder why. Why doesn’t God do something about disease, evil and all the other problems that seem so prevalent in our world? We know He has…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2015\/05\/feeling-down-discouraged-time-to-put-on-those-spiritual-glasses.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Doing Life Together\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-05-11T10:00:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-05-05T11:24:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2015\/05\/ID-10066791-300x200.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda Mintle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@drlindamintle\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Feeling Down, Discouraged? 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