If you were God, what kind of life would you give you? You could give yourself a really good life—stable finances, healthy body, faithful friends. But do you know what often happens when life’s that good? We get so caught up in our lives that we forget how desperately we need God. So, you could make life painful. Dysfunctional family, financially broke, friendless, and anxious. But do you know what often happens when life is that hard? We shake our fists. After begging God for a break, we wonder if he cares. 

You see God’s problem, right? A good life or a bad life might make us miss out on our best life with him.

This is why I love that day on the stormy Sea of Galilee: “The disciples went and woke him, saying, ‘Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!’ . . . Then [Jesus] got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm” (Matthew 8:25,26). Jesus’ followers couldn’t forget about him when they were dying, nor could they claim Jesus didn’t care when he saved them from an unthinkable ending.

Maybe Jesus is doing the same for you. He allows storms so you become desperate for his help, despairing of your own ability to control a situation. Then he either calms that storm immediately or promises to do so soon so that you never forget how much he loves you.

How might God be using the good and the bad in your life to keep you close to Jesus?