God’s Sovereign Ways

I have a special guest for the devotional today, Cynthia Roemer. Cynthia is an award-winning inspirational writer with a heart for scattering seeds of hope into the lives of readers. Raised in the cornfields of rural Illinois, Cynthia enjoys spinning tales set in the backdrop of the 1800s prairie. She writes from her family farm in central Illinois where she resides with her husband and their two college-aged sons. She is kind enough to share her thoughts about God’s Sovereign Ways.

Why does God allow bad to happen? It’s a question each of us has asked at some point in our lives, when we witness needless tragedy, innocent lives lost, or experience hardships of our own. It’s a mystery that has been considered through the ages of time, and yet continues to go unresolved.

In my debut novel, Under This Same Sky, my main character, Becky Hollister, ponders this question when tragedy strikes her family, turning her once secure world upside down. Her heartaches cause her to doubt God’s power and authority and to ask why He didn’t spare her and her loved ones the tragedy of loss. In the months that follow, she battles anger and bitterness toward God before coming to the realization that He is wise and loving and that He wants only the best for us.

The novel’s key verse is Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope.” Under This Same Sky allows readers to walk alongside Becky as she journeys from the depth of despair to the place of acceptance and understanding.

Though my novel doesn’t seek to answer the question of why God allows pain and difficulties to infiltrate our lives, it does convey the message that God is able to work all things for our good when we seek Him. No matter what we go through in this life we have the comfort in knowing the Lord walks beside us.

I showcased Under This Same Sky on my blog with a review a few months ago. It was such a well-written and inspiring story. If you want to check it out on Amazon, here is the link. It was a great read. Thank you, Cynthia, for sharing your thoughts with us today. I hope all of you will seek out God’s plan for your life, and that all of you recognize He wants good for each of us because He loves us so very much.

~ She thought she’d lost everything ~ Instead she found what she needed most. ~

Illinois ~ 1854

Becky Hollister wants nothing more than to live out her days on the prairie, building a life for herself alongside her future husband. But when a tornado rips through her parents’ farm, killing her mother and sister, she must leave the only home she’s ever known and the man she’s begun to love to accompany her injured father to St. Louis.

Catapulted into a world of unknowns, Becky finds solace in corresponding with Matthew Brody, the handsome pastor back home. But when word comes that he is all but engaged to someone else, she must call upon her faith to decipher her future.

You can learn more about Cynthia at her website, http://cynthiaroemer.com/, on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCynthiaRoemer/, Twitter, https://twitter.com@cynthiaroemer, and Goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16785237.Cynthia_Roemer.