Can you remember a time, or several, when you’ve wondered how you could possibly get through a trial in your life? How you’d get through every step you’d have to take to possibly come out on the other side? And do so victoriously – however, that looks for you. And during this time, during a time a trial feels impossible to overcome, you wonder how God would not only pull you through but where He was on this walk.
Maybe we talk about this often. I’m positive I’ve shared this message previously. But I can’t be the only one who needs reminding of where I’ve been, and how He is going to continue being there for me in the future.
Tell me I’m not the only one who does this without remembering every – single – time He has pulled us through repeatedly. Not only through hard times, but also through life’s journey that leads us to wherever He knows we need to be. And when He reminds us that His plan is our plan – through everyday decisions that are made.
Even before being offered my position at Frazer Church almost two years ago, I sat in my car in front of the main office door and battled with an unimaginable (to me) fear and uncertainty, following a few years of endured abuse. I wouldn’t share this with anyone at my job for almost a full year.
But I sat there, and before walking into my second interview, prayed, “God, if this is where I need to be, then… let’s go in.”
What I battled that one afternoon didn’t resolve itself for several months, and I wasn’t able to fully let go of the situation in my heart for over a year and a half. But God had His hand on my path, leading me to a job, a church, to people that I needed to be around. The internal battle was one I didn’t know how I would pull through.
But He walked alongside me, and I grew spiritually. I have learned, professionally. I have made some of my closest friends. And I have poured my soul into Jesus as I haven’t ever before.
So, I sit here, and maybe you do, too, and wonder, “How?” But that’s when our hearts, our minds, and our memories must slow down and look back at what we’ve already faced. What we’ve already pulled through with God at our side.
And if you come across this quote like I did recently:
Faith tells me that no matter what lies ahead of me, God is already there.
You’ll remember that heartbreak, the financial strains, the depression, the relationship strains with family or friends. And you’ll remember how He was there at the beginning, the middle, and the end – whatever that end is.
As I’ve grown deeper in my relationship with Christ, I have found myself reminding others that God didn’t promise us we wouldn’t have problems, but that He would walk beside us through our trials. As hard as that is to believe in our time of desperation, of hardship.
The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. (Deuteronomy 31:8)
Share this message with others.
I have a younger friend who recently shared some difficult circumstances in her life with me and who said, “I guess this is how it is always going to be,” and I replied, “No… no… no.” Not only “no,” but that God would walk with her in her situation. That there would be eventual resolve with Him beside her. To have hope in that. To fully trust our walk with Him.