God means you well

Those of you who read this post of mine recently would have detected my faulty view of God in the confession. When I’m feeling down I often fall into thinking that God is not really on my side, or else that he is like a great task-master in the sky, with a very long list of lessons for me to learn - which I never quite manage to pass. So, I was encouraged, and reminded of my error, this week in reading two posts on two different blogs, which both address how very wrong such thoughts are (and I feel compelled to post them in here to put all to rights!). See here at Radical Womanhood and here at Girltalk. Actually, I will paste in the quote from JC Ryle, which I stole from the second blog (and think is marvellous):

Reader, if God has given you His only begotten Son, beware of doubting His kindness and love, in any painful providence of your daily life! Never allow yourself to think hard thoughts of God. Never suppose that He can give you anything which is not really for your good. Remember the words of Paul: ‘He who spared not His own Son—but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things’ (Romans 8:32).

See in every sorrow and trouble of your earthly pilgrimage the hand of Him who gave Christ to die for your sins! That hand can never smite you except in love! He who gave His only begotten Son for you, will never withhold anything from you which is really for your good. Lean back on this thought and be content. Say to yourself in the darkest hour of trial, ‘This also is ordered by Him who gave Christ to die for my sins. It cannot be wrong. It is done in love. It must be well.’