Purposed: God is Near

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good… for those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified.”
Romans 8:38-30

God’s objective is to conform us to the image of His Son. He wants to make us like Christ, because that is our ultimate good. Psalm 73:28 says “But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge.” God wants good in our lives, and He knows that being in relationship with Him, trusting Him, and being made like Him is good for us.

Imagine again a broken piece of pottery. If the potter left it alone, would it ever be used for good? No. If we didn’t have Christ in the midst of loss, we would inevitably stay in our brokenness and become bitter, angry, and difficult to relate to. Our marriages and relationships would deteriorate. We would continue on a downward spiral of hurt and unforgiveness.

But instead, the Potter chose to pull us out. He called us to be like Christ—and He will bring that about, even from this. He can make us women who are like Jesus—kind and compassionate, women who still love our husbands and our friends and family, women who can be patient and loving and trust the Father no matter what.

I don’t know, and I won’t say, that God caused the death of our babies in order to make us like Jesus. His reason for taking them home is not revealed to us. But what is revealed is that He can make good come out of death. He brought good out of His Son’s death, and He can bring it out of your son or daughter’s death too.

But it takes time. It takes time to see God weaving good out of our stories. Gwendolyn’s death wasn’t good. But I see that God brought good out of it. He didn’t let her death be wasted, or just a really sad chapter of my life. My life is now filled with evidence of God bringing good out of something horrible.

But in those first few hours and days and months of missing her, what did I need to know and believe about God’s purpose for me? I needed to believe that He had one. That He saw me, and my heartache, and He was holding Gwendolyn. I needed to cling to the hope that heaven would make amends for all things, and that God would be near to me.

Psalm 138:4 says that God is near to the brokenhearted, and Psalm 73:28 says that His nearness is our good.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?  As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:31-37

The love of Christ will hold you fast.

Even when you’re angry and uncertain about Him, even when He allows devastation in your life. Nothing can separate you from His love. And He loves to intercede for us. So, if you don’t know how to relate to Him right now, you don’t know what to pray for, that’s okay. The Spirit is praying for you, and not even death can separate you Him.

God is for you. He will draw out of your story what He has already placed in you—a beautiful faith. And in the meantime, while you wait, He will be near to you.

As each of you know, grief is hard work. And it is work. We can’t be passive about our thoughts or emotions, even as they roll over us in their intensity,

The beauty that God brings out of our stories begins as we take our emotions before His throne. So when you have questions, take them to Him. When you’re upset and broken and feel like you can’t cry anymore—tell Him. When you’re so tired of being sad, tell Him. He gets it. God understands our grief. Christ Himself was a man of sorrows and familiar with grief, as Isaiah 53 tells us.

“The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me; Your steadfast love O Lord, endures forever; do not forsake the work of Your hands.“
Psalm 138:8

The Lord will fulfill His purpose in your grief. It’s not a question or a maybe, it’s a sure promise.

He can and will pull you out of brokenness and give purpose to your loss. He can redeem and bring good, even out of this. Why? Because His steadfast love endures. It endures, beyond our circumstances or experiences or anger or hurt or heartache. He doesn’t forsake His own.

This article was originally published on the blog on May 5, 2015

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Erin Cushman is the founder of Hope Mommies. She is married to Blair and has four children: Gwendolyn, who has been with Jesus since October 20, 2010, Malacai, who is three, Gemma, born in June 2015, and Baby Cush. She loves photography, gardening, cooking, reading, playing with her children, and especially loves when all those things combine.

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