How many times have you uttered the words, “I just need a break!”? How often have you felt like the onslaught of challenges, hard times, sleepless nights, and frustration was an endless battle that you were doomed to never win? I know I have felt this way more times than I care to admit. Let’s be real for a quick minute… life is full of heartache and pain. We all see it. We’ve all experienced it. Much like the ocean’s waves, the pain just keeps coming.
So how do we reconcile what we experience with what we believe? How do we come to a place of being able to go through the seasons of agony with grace and hope and joy? When everything in us, and everything around us, is screaming “THINGS ARE NOT THE WAY THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE!!“, how do we fight for peace? When our hearts are broken over and over and over again, how do we go on? How do we push through to the next season when it seems impossible to see past the current pain?
Lift Your Eyes and Remember
Remember who He is – He is Creator. He is Sustainer. He is Rescuer. He is Life. He is Joy. He is Comfort. He is Wisdom. He is Father. He is Giver of Every Good & Perfect Gift. He is Healer. He is Provider. He is Counselor. He is Author & Finisher.
Remember what He has done – He has already made a way for you. He has already called you His own. He has already paid the price for your redemption. He has already promised to be with you. He has already brought you out of the darkness and called you into His marvelous light that you may declare His excellencies. He has already forgiven you. He has already made you clean. He has already captured every tear you’ve cried in a bottle. He has already set your feet on solid rock. He has already heard the groanings of your spirit. He has heard the cries of His people. He has already declared His work as finished.
Remember who He says you are – You are His. You are His prized possession. You are the Apple of His eye. You are His beloved. You are His child. You are His creation. You are covered. You are loved. You are delighted in. You are pursued. You are protected. You are seen. You are favored.
Remember what He calls you to do – Know him. Reflect Him. Love His people. Declare His works. Trust Him. Rest in Him. Allow Him to mold you. Allow Him to convict you. Allow Him to break you so that He may build you. Depend on Him. Learn of Him. Find your very being in Him. Listen to Him. Receive His grace and sin no more. See His splendor and do not fear, for His with you. Be filled with the joy of His salvation. Come to Him boldly to make your requests known, as a child to their Father. Live according to the identity He has given you. Live unbound. Live gratefully. Forgive. Dance. Sing… He is Great and Greatly to be praised.
Believe The Character of God
There is nothing this side of heaven that will erase our burden. This life, this world, can be a heavy load. Things can get really freakin’ hard! When we lift our eyes to look outside of our own mess, and we allow our Source of Life to flood our thoughts with His perfect love, fear no longer has a foothold. We can walk through the fires knowing that we are not alone.
What we believe about the character of God matters most when we find ourselves in the midst of despair and grief. So ask yourself these questions when things aren’t going as planned:
- Is God big enough to carry me through this?
- Is God still good even in this trouble?
- Where is my hope?
- Does God keep His promises?
I hope you feel restored after reading this. I hope that you feel encouraged. I hope that you feel safe. But mostly, I hope that after reading this, you are stirred to trust in Jesus, cast your cares before Him and feel lightened by His easy burden.
I love you all!
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