“I’m just going through a difficult time right now,” she admitted after making herself comfortable in my office. She proceeded to share the circumstances that turned her life upside down and sideways, before looking to me to provide some answers, some hope.
I could relate on many fronts. Not necessarily the specifics of her situation, but the constant onslaught of one difficulty after another. Just thinking through the challenges I’d navigated over the last few days was enough to make my head spin: mechanical failure on my plane, my ride’s car broke down several hours from our destination, the most turbulent flight I had ever taken in my life, one of my staff became ill and called in sick on a Monday morning, another friend’s son died unexpectedly…
With the exception of the friend’s son dying, those things paled in comparison to the challenges we’d navigated in the past year, not the least of which was cancer. Yet, whether our challenges are minor inconveniences or cataclysmic explosions, I’ve gained a little perspective.
An encouraging word for difficult times
Are you going through a difficult time right now?
Will you allow me just a moment to give you an encouraging word?
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.” (Isaiah 43:2)
Do you see what that says?
When you pass THROUGH the waters, THROUGH the rivers, THROUGH the fire.
This is not your destination. It’s just part of your journey.
God will go with you
You are to go THROUGH to the other side. And you don’t go alone. God promises that during each crisis you must go THROUGH, He will be with you. With His hand of protection, the rivers won’t overflow you, and the fires won’t burn you, and the flame won’t scorch you. HE is your protection.
Don’t stop.
Don’t give up.
Keep your eyes on Him, as you make your way THROUGH whatever difficulty you are currently enduring. You are not alone. Trust Him.
Because of Him, #HopePrevails!
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It can be so discouraging to face obstacle after obstacle, b/c from our perspective we’re in the dark. the advice you give is sound and reminds us to look up so we can get God’s perspective and keep moving on. thanks!
It’s so true, He doesn’t always deliver us from the circumstances. Instead, He takes us through them and grows us in the process.
I love how you point out we must go through these difficult times. We can’t avoid them and we can’t shy away from them. But the truth you pointed out is our hope: God is with us and He will get us to the other side! Visiting from #MomentsofHope. 🙂
Such wisdom here! Thanks so much for helping us to gain perspective.
Thanks so much for joining the Grace at Home party at Imparting Grace. I’m featuring you this week!
Isaiah 43:2 was our verse that kept us (along with other verses in Isaiah) firm in our standing and belief that God would give us the victory in the adversity we were going through. 18 months of trusting and believing in God has grown our faith deeper! Adversity will do that, grow our faith, IF we let it though. That’s the key, we need to recognize that God can use this time to grow our faith deeper in Him as He works out the details of providing us the victory.
Visiting from Grace Moments.
I love where it says that difficult times are not your destination but a part of your journey. Years ago I heard that in the 23rd Psalm where it says in verse 4 ‘Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death’ that we are not to take our camping gear with us but we are to go THROUGH the valley. So it is not our destination but part of our journey. We do not stay there. This is so encouraging today for me. I appreciate you sharing from your life with us as the Lord has led you and cared for you. I have HOPE that He will also care for me and my family. I love and appreciate you so much Dr. Michelle. Praying for you!