“Thus I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will chase after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” And they did so. – Exodus 14:4
Listen, the goal of your life is not to do better. The goal of your life is not to get a husband or a wife, to have three kids and a dog, to have a good paycheck and live happily ever after. That is not the goal of life.
The goal of life is always the glory of God. Friend, that will hold you when your dreams come crashing to the ground because it didn’t work out like it was supposed to – your children, your grandchildren, your job, your spouse. Whatever it is, those things may not work out like you hoped. At the end of the day, if you belong to God, and the Spirit of God is in you, if you have the resolute conviction that your life is primarily for the glory of God, that will hold you. God glorifies Himself through situations, through circumstances, through events we could have never predicted and never understood. I have had those seasons in my life where I’ve had to get on my face in a dark room somewhere and cry out to God and say, “Oh God, if You are glorified, then I am okay.” Hear me, child of God!
Happy church, pleasing platitudes, and psychology with a little Christian truth smeared around the edges is not going to get you through this life, but if you’ll anchor your life on the truth that life is primarily about the glory of God, that will get you through. And you will stand at the end with triumphant praise to God that though not all of your plans and desires were granted, still God caused all things to work together for your good because you loved God and were called according to His purpose!