I don't say it lightly, but if you aren't embracing the difficult, using the grief, speaking a message from the place of mess, I am praying for you. I'm not praying you would experience pain and hardship, but I am praying that whatever pain and hardship you've experienced or are about to experience would not be lost to the enemy.
Scott and I have had our share of difficulty. I'll spare you the list. Some of it was obviously self-imposed; some through no fault of our own. Was it God testing our faith? An enemy attack? Something to teach others? No use wasting time in the land of speculation, discussing what we think are the whys. That serves little purpose. I mean, we're human; let me just admit, we do that sometimes. We get whatever notice that trouble has made itself comfortable among us for however long, and we question. Is this for real? Didn't we just go through something? Why this? Why now? But we don't stay there.
There is another option, the one we choose to embrace: What good are You working in this season? We begin to look for the lessons, things within ourselves that need to be changed and how our journey through this trouble will accomplish that. We find the opportunities to point to our Hope, to speak encouragement with truth to others. Yes, this is difficult and agonizing and chaotic, but God's got this. We pray more, fast more, take times of quiet more, point one another toward our Refuge more. We speak Life into the situation --not that God would do as we design, but that He would bring things about perfectly, for that's the only way He can do things. We hang on to His promises and draw nearer to Him in a way we usually don't. And we have discovered, if our hands are full of His promises, we are unable to grasp this thing humans love so much --control. (I believe control is one of the greatest enemies of growth in Christ --but that's for another day.)
Please don't get me wrong, we are not perfect, and we do not always handle things perfectly. But we are learning. We have learned. Growth and joy are taking root because we have been so beaten down by God-awful circumstances or mundane nonsense on repeat. For the greater part, we no longer grit our teeth and clench our fists. We look up and say, Oh, so this is what we're doing for the next few months? Okay then. And it has been LIBERATING! Every financial burden, every tenuous relationship, every irritation, every question --it all goes up. Father God, this is in Your hands. What a blessing that is! And we are privileged to sit back and watch God work. The Creator of the universe is watching over our home. The Author of salvation is writing my story. The Redeemer of the world is working all things out for my good. The King of kings is listening when I tell Him I am afraid. His power and sovereignty are on full display as the difficulties of this world attempt to pull me under. But He has disarmed and humiliated the troubles of this world and their originator. They no longer have any power except to strengthen those in Christ and fill us with joy as we witness our Master at work.
So, embrace the difficult. Face it head-on with God's Word as your sword and Christ as your Shield.
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