Let's just go ahead and be brutally honest. Life is not The Notebook. Life is not perfect. Life is rough. Life is hard. Life is a roller-coaster of ups and downs. These ups are so beautiful and full of life, but when the downs come darkness fills every corner of our world. It seems like the sunshine turned off and took a holiday as we search desperately for a glimpse of light-skimmed hope. These downs come like floods into our minds and hearts. They confuse. They burn. They wipe out. They rip open wounds you thought you closed. They leave you feeling utterly defeated. I feel you. I feel the hurt. I feel the rejection. I feel the anger. I feel the brokenness. Whether it is a relationship, family, doubt, school, future, whatever that season of despair is, I know there are truths that cover every circumstance that we can build a foundation on. These truths can give you something to hold on to when you feel the waves just may completely take you under.
God is Sovereign
Sovereignty according to Google definition is," possessing supreme or ultimate power." What does this mean to say that ,as Christians, we worship a God who is sovereign? It means He is all-knowing. He has it in control. I am a huge control freak when it comes to my schedule and cleanliness and all that. I literally could pull my hair out when things I thought I had in control, slip out of my grip. The truth that I have realized is that it is not mine to have all together all the time. When my plans fall apart, I must trust that God has it in His hands. That He is the author, not myself.
" You can make plans, but the Lord's plans will prevail" Proverbs 19:21
God is a Forgiver
In our downs, it is so easy to blame ourselves. Maybe we did say or do something wrong. Maybe we ourselves were wronged and retaliated in a way that was not glorifying to God. Maybe we need to forgive someone else in order to gain freedom and to love again. I don't know about ya'll, but forgiveness is tough. I love to think of myself as Ms. Independent, don't-need-no-one, ain't-nobody-gonna-hurt-me kinda gal. The truth is that my attitude is a prideful front that in no way is glorifying or an example of how to deal with built-up unforgiveness, even if it does conceal it for a while. I fully understand the hurt of being wronged and mistreated, and the hurt within yourself when you have unforgiveness internally directed at you. Jesus said, " If you don't let go of your resentment, if you refuse to forgive others, you'll be robbing yourself of your heavenly Father's forgiveness" Matthew 6:15. The greatness of Jesus and the love of Jesus all spews from the Cross of Jesus' crucifixion when He forgave us. He called us home. He forgave me and continues to do so, when I come to Him with a repented heart. Forgiveness breaks chains. Forgiveness brings light to the darkness. I need forgiveness, so do others.
God is Not Surprised
If God is sovereign, which He is, He is not surprised by the circumstance in your life. He is not blind-sided that your family fell apart. He is not blind-sided that you didn't get into that program. He is not blind-sided that you are heartbroken. He has equipped you with power, love, and grace by His goodness and greatness to overcome whatever situation you are in. He is all-knowing. Many times Christians are surprised that after accepting Christ that life is not rainbows and butterflies. It says in His Word that "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. " 2 Corinthians 4:8-9. There will be pressure. There will be trials. There will be attacks on our joy and our lives, but God is not surprised. He has this.
God is in the Restoration Business
How beautiful the verse, " He restores my soul." Psalm 23:3. It makes me feel hope. It makes my soul somewhat flutter with the realization of newness coming to my broken pieces. He makes all things new. The broken pieces, the hurts, the tears, the rejection, the abandonment, will ALL be restored to fullness in new things and with His time by His goodness. Beauty from ashes. The truth of Jesus is transformation. When we accept him, He gives us new clothes to wear. We wear forgiveness. We wear grace. We wear His power. We wear His greatness. We wear His unstoppable love. He is in the restoration business.
God Calls You By Name and He Loves You
Unlovableness is a tsunami in our hearts when darkness comes. When we feel defeated, we often feel very unlovable because we are ate up with bitterness, anger, and ultimately lifelessness. Love shines so bright and has no battle against darkness. Light spreads. Jesus is love. His love was displayed for us on the cross and throughout the Bible, we are continually showed the extent, which is impossible to ever fully grasp, that God loves his children. He created us. He plans our footsteps. He hears our prayers. He gives us grace. One of the most glorious things about Christ's love is that He doesn't just see our Instagram feed of our spotlight lives. He doesn't just see those super fun and good days we share with friends and families. He sees and knows us when we are hurt. Alone. Broken. He sees our hearts, our most vulnerable place, and He loves us and you ,specifically, by name with a love that is never failing.
God is The Answer
C.S Lewis wrote, " I know, now, Lord, why you utter no answer. Before your face questions die away. What other answer would suffice?"
Sometimes we get so wrapped up in trying to fix our problem, that we leave God out of it. We say prayers that are half-hearted just to say we did, but we don't rest in the fact that JESUS IS THE ANSWER. His ways are higher than ours. We do not rest in his greatness and authority He has over all. What else can deliver love like Jesus? What else can we run to and be filled up with peace? Who else can make our brokenness into something beautiful? No one and nothing but Jesus.
There are so many truths that we can rest on today and forever as we lean into Jesus and who He is. We all have storms and chaos in our lives in different forms. I want you to know that you are loved. You are so so cherished by the creator of the oceans, the mountains, the deserts, and the one who put billions of stars in the sky, but still created you despite your flaws or weaknesses. He is strong in weakness. Press into these truths for your hurts. Jesus is the answer. Explore his Word and dig deep and I promise there will be restoration.
