Have you ever found yourself on the other side of a really tough season? You may have experienced a family crisis, an emotional breakdown, financial struggles or health problems. Sometimes life does culminate in a whole lot of stressful situations that really challenge your beliefs. I hope that you have found yourself stronger in your character and your faith. Sometimes it takes a while, but hard times have one up side – they tend to grow your strength and your willpower.
But once you have come through that tough time – where you were desperately surviving on God, the encouragement of others, and whatever was directly in your grasp – what do you do then?
I have recently come out of a time where I had no money or job, my mom had been battling cancer, and I was really depressed due to some identity issues that came from abuse. Every day I woke up early before anyone else in the house and would just cry out to God. Every day he came through somehow. I had revelations of who God is and he gave me promises that I had no choice but to live on. In the Bible Jesus says, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God”. You don’t realise how true that is until you live it. But what happens when things turn out good? How do you stay engaged in your faith and not just grow complacent?
You see, comfort is a dangerous thing. After experiencing discomfort for a long time, I could very much justify that I deserve comfort now. I deserve to sit back and take some time for myself. I deserve to languish in my newfound freedom. But the moment you seek comfort only, you lose focus on your purpose. I believe life has direction and we are blessed to be a blessing. In many ways, this was clearer to me when I was destitute than it is now. I know for a fact that who I was a year ago would not be happy with me today if I just sat back and didn’t keep on pressing into what I am called to do.
If all we seek is comfort, then the suffering we endured had no purpose. Who I have become because of my hard times is worth more than any amount of money or carefree living. The only reason I can live in the goodness of today is because I had to go through those hard times. So my faith, my endurance, my appreciation of God and others, and my focus on what God wants me to do are all non-negotiables in my time of plenty. I have seen so many people forget God during the good times and then desperately claw their way to him when things get tough.
So this may just be a pep talk to myself, or an encouraging thought for those who are at the same point of life. If you are busy fighting the struggle, I hope you are encouraged by the fact that I have now got three jobs, my mother is cancer-free, and I have been able to help others work through issues of rejection and abuse because of my story. The fact is that in both the good and bad times, we need God. I believe everything we have does come from him. And I don’t need new struggles to remind me of it. Don’t forget him when times are good. Push in deeper – God has a purpose for every single person on the planet. He knows what he is doing, it is up to us to get with the program and then stick with the program.
If you feel like you have lost your way, or need hope for your situation – the best thing you can do is turn to God. If you want to find out more about how he can help you, please click on the link below.