God is not some celestial Santa Clause ready to rain prosperity on those who pray, but He is a God who comforts and guides us in our time of suffering.

Where can I go from your Spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence?

8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

if I settle on the far side of the sea,

10 even there your hand will guide me,

your right hand will hold me fast.

11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me

and the light become night around me,”

12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;

the night will shine like the day,

for darkness is as light to you. Psalm 139

My heart is breaking for the families who lost loved ones when a terrorist pledging his allegiance to Isis decided to plow his rental truck and mow down ordinary people who were out enjoying the day on foot, on bicycles, or riding a school bus.  

Hearts everywhere are heavy. PTSD is everywhere, it seems, as we try to understand the latest atrocity through our nightmares.  

If there is anything I know about suffering, our Lord Jesus is there to lift you up no matter how you may be feeling. He is there when the tears are flowing freely. He is there for the good times and not so good times.

So often we view God as this celestial Santa Clause who showers us with silver and gold coins. We somehow have this idea that if I pray enough, or read my bible enough that
God will shower me with blessings. 

How many of us, for example, have prayed for a lottery ticket before the big drawing? How many become convinced that we were destined to win the lottery in a dream?  So often, we associate God with the good times of life and when those good times do not keep rolling we blame God.  

When someone loses a child, for example, many are quick to blame God for causing their loved one to die. Some will stop attending church because God stopped being the Santa Claus of their life.

 Others will remove all reminders of God from their home and begin embracing atheism. We become crybabies as though God is only to rain blessings and nothing more.

Truth be told, God is there when we lose a loved one.  He is there to comfort you in your suffering and in your pain.  The Christian life was never about getting rich or building the biggest house, It was never intended to be a gospel of prosperity. If that were so, then how do you explain that to a poor family that is strong in their but lack the trappings of luxury?  God wants to occupy the center of your being. He wants to speak words of hope to help you get through the storm of this life.

Which is why we must never run away from God when bad things happen. We must, instead,  run toward Him every time we are in agony.  We must lean into our grief, embrace each emotion your feeling and be willing to cry out to God your pain. 

Through Jesus Christ, God wants a relationship with you so that He may guide you through whatever life dishes out.

Whatever journey you're on in this life, God is with you as this passage from Psalms reminds us. He, alone, will give you the peace and eternal optimism that will keep you going forward!