Life is full of curveballs. It’s never quite as simple as the movies make it out to be. There is no way to fit a person’s life into an hour and a half movie. Yet, we search for a life that can mimic what we see on the screen, but we always fail to find the perfect life. It’s because life is full of challenges, hardships, and a lot of pain and suffering. I don’t think there’s any coincidence in this life when hard times come knocking at our door, but it isn’t until years later that we begin to realize how much the suffering and struggle has made us who we are. Stronger.
I recently listened to a story of a man whose young daughter was knocked unconscious after driving straight into a tree using a zip line. Her face began gushing with blood and she wasn’t waking up. Once they arrived at the emergency room the doctor instructed the father to get on top of his daughter and hold her down as she was beginning to wake up. This way, the doctor could stitch up the face and the daughter would not pull away during the procedure. The father spoke of how he was having to hold his daughter down as she was begging for him to stop, so she could go play. That was the moment when he began to cry for the pain his daughter was having to go through. God works in the exact same way, when we hurt, He hurts. He doesn’t want us to go through pain and suffering, but without it, we wouldn’t grow to be who he has called us to be.
God wants you to become the person he was stitching together in the womb and smiled at because of everything you would accomplish with Him. The bible says “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Romans 5:3-5).” Imagine that, rejoicing in your suffering. Knowing that your father in Heaven, who loves you more than you could ever love yourself, is just looking for you to be still, rest in Him, and have faith in his plan for your life.
Did you know that God loves much different than we do? He loves with an Agape Love. It is the most self-sacrificing love that there is. Which is to say he loves you regardless of what you do or who you are. You could burn the bible or even kill Christians and the love He has for you would remain unshakable. Look at the life of Jesus, a sinless man, crucified on a cross to save us from ourselves. Talk about suffering, we fall short of the glory each day, yet a sinless man was crucified on our behalf. For God to look at us, seeing our pride and sin, and still pay for us with the blood of his own son so that we can be with Him in eternity, it’s indescribable. It is for this reason that I must mention to those that immediately blame themselves for the pain they are going through is that it is not your fault, and you do not “deserve” this. You don’t deserve the guilt, the shame, or the consequence. That is the devil trying to create depression, hate, and revenge within your soul.
We have all fallen short of God’s glory and He has no condemnation towards us. Therefore, you are not “getting what you deserve”. Let’s be clear, there is no more wrath, it’s gone! The break up you're going through, your friend or family member that has left this Earth, it is NOT a punishment from God. He sees you and says my son, my daughter, perfect, spotless, blameless. Therefore, you are not “getting what you deserve”.
So what am I trying to say? That it is all worth it! Every tear is worth it! Every heartbreak is worth it! He is enough for you, all of the affliction against you is momentary, it is light, and it is meaningful. Every second of your misery is producing a glory that will come out of it, because of it. It is not meaningless, it doesn’t matter what the source of the suffering is from.
Of course, you don’t see what it’s doing at the moment, but it’s working for you an eternal weight of glory. Do not lose heart! Run to Him, the creator of your soul who breathed His majestic life into you, and he will satisfy every hurt and every burden that has come against you. All you have to do is be still and know that He is God. You don’t have to hold yourself together, there is freedom in surrender. Meditate on who he is, stop holding on to the hurt, and let him hold you. Get on your knees, cry out to him, and hand Him every hurt that is holding you back. You have to give it all to Him.
“When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed spirit.” (Psalm 34:18)
There is no limitation to what He can do in your life. His yoke is easy, and His burden is light. Paul, who used to kill Christians for sport and was then turned into a follower of God wrote, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (Romans 8:18)” Way too often we define ourselves by the hurt done to us rather than by the God who heals us. Jesus beckons us to wholeness. Therefore, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying; "This is the way, walk in it”. (Isaiah 30:21)” Yes, your sins have been forgiven. Yes, your name is written in heaven. Yes, death has been defeated. And yes, God has entered your world and He can satisfy every hurt. Immanuel, God is with us. You are not alone when you are in the valley, He will make a way, let him hold onto your heart. He’s still on the throne. Run to Him!
“I will stay should the world by me fold,
Lift up Your name as the darkness falls,
I will wait and hold fast to Your word,
Heart on Your heart and my eyes on You.”- Hillsong
