And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.
(Romans 8:28 NLT)
Series: Anchored in Hope
When going through tough times, I’ve been told everything happens for a reason. Anyone else? It’s usually offered as encouragement while I’m waiting for a solution or can’t make sense of why something is happening. In those moments, “everything happens for a reason,” isn’t really what I want to hear. I need answers!!
Are you yearning for a resolution to a difficult situation? Have you been sitting in the waiting room for one too many days? Sometimes our answers take longer than we hope for and when they arrive, they rarely come in nicely wrapped packages. While enduring what seems to be endless days in the valley, we need something stronger to cling to.
The longer we sit in this valley, the more disappointed we become. We desperately long for these issues to pass, or at least improve, but with each day, they worsen. We pray and we pray again. Then, not only are we disappointed, but discouraged—is this ever going to stop? There are different things we may experience while we are in a place of wait. We might start off confused, or frustrated. As the days pass, we can become anxious, worried, even fearful, wondering if it will be over soon. We start to feel alone, or lost, because we are certain no one understands what we are experiencing. We lose our joy; we can feel trapped in a corner. We don’t sleep, because the thoughts don’t stop, so we become exhausted. We question whether God is even listening or if He has forgotten who we are. Does any of this sound familiar?
At some point, we go from discouragement to disconnection. And not just disconnecting from our families, friends, church communities, but also from God. We just don’t have any energy left to invest or care. It takes all we have-just to get up and get moving for the day. It becomes easier to isolate than to explain what’s wrong or answer more questions. Please hear this, sisters—we have an actual enemy. He designs and fashions many weapons against us. He clouds our focus to keep us from doing the very things we need to do to climb out of the valley we are stuck in. Jesus calls the enemy’s schemes out in John 10:10:
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (ESV)
The enemy wants to prevent you from trusting God or looking to His word for help. Why? Because he knows how powerful scripture is, and that you are created for great purpose and for God’s glory. His goal is to stop your walk with Jesus. You can’t walk forward in your purpose if you are paralyzed in fear, anxiousness, or weariness. The enemy wants to isolate you from every good thing. He desires to leave you empty, thirsty, and hopeless. In this moment, you kick that enemy to the curb, and You HOLD FAST TO HOPE in Christ Jesus. In Romans 5:3-5 we learn:
Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (ESV)
Soaking in the truth of God strengthens you. His word provides comfort and encouragement when you are sitting in that cold, empty waiting room. Our incredible sovereign Lord has already prepared the way of escape for us. Over and over in the Psalms, and all throughout scripture, we read about the characteristics of God. Of who He is. God is our Rock, our Refuge, our Strength, our Mighty Fortress.
As for me, I look to the Lord for help. I wait confidently for God to save me, and my God will certainly hear me.
(Micah 7:7 NLT)
Our true hope is found in Christ alone. He is faithful in every situation, even in the waiting room.
Holding Fast to Hope,
Jen