THE STRUGGLE IS PART OF THE STORY

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

For various reasons, this past year has been the most painful year of my life by far. As of late, God has graciously given me a mild reprieve, but I still spend a lot of time thinking about all that happened this year and the way God used trials and tribulations to remold and reshape me.

What do you do when everything you have placed your hope and security in is swept out from underneath you like a rug, leaving you hopeless and literally on the floor, asking, “Why, God?”

As dramatic of a description as that may seem, I know what it feels like to lose out on a dream. It’s heartbreaking. And for me, even though it was a rude awakening, it was also a fresh beginning and a chance to truly, for the very first time, trust God and give him the pen of my life’s story—including my most of all my faith story.

We can never let ourselves forget that the struggle is part of the story. The nightmare we may be living—or have lived at some point—is something God can use to remind us of our need for Him. He can take our broken pieces and make them into something beautiful if we only trust Him. I know because I have experienced it.

“As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain

your mercy from me;

your steadfast love and your faithfulness will

ever preserve me!” {Psalm 40:11}

In these hard times, we often have to hit rock bottom before we realize our true need for God. In these times, we find Him on our knees. And when we do—when we humble ourselves before the Lord and ask Him for help—that is when we are reminded of whose arms will never fail us, whose ears will never tire of our cries and whose shoulder we can always lean on.

“I waited patiently for the Lord;

he inclined to me and heard my cry.

He drew me up from the pit of destruction,

out of the miry bog,

and set my feet upon a rock,

making my steps secure.

He put a new song in my mouth,

a song of praise to our God.” {Psalm 40:1-3}

When I was forced to deal with the broken pieces of an unhappy circumstance that came my way last year, the Lord opened my eyes to see that the life I had been living was utterly self-focused. He had so many wonderful purposes for allowing my struggle! I realized that I had been so narrow-minded in getting what I wanted most that I placed some important relationships in my life on the back burner. 

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.” {Isaiah 55:8-9}

And as the Lord continued closed some major doors in my life, I had to learn to dance in the hallway until more of them opened up. And, even now—even though many doors have opened and many changes have taken place in my life—I am still dancing in the hallway in some areas. But I have hope that even if the doors I want opened remain closed, God knows better than I do, and His ways are not my ways.

Today I pray that God would open the eyes of everyone reading this to see that His ways are best. And even when struggles come, those struggles have a purpose and an important role in our stories. Let the struggles draw you closer to God and teach you true dependence on Him alone.

Faith.