What To do When You’re Going Through Hard Times
Facing difficult situations in our lives is inevitable, but God has a purpose for our pain.
Facing difficult situations in our lives is inevitable. Here, we’ll be encouraged knowing we are not alone, that God has a purpose for our pain, and that He will use it for His greater purpose.
Take Heart
If you’re going through a difficult time in your life right now, you’re not alone. In fact, 100% of people in the world will experience some type of hardship or difficult season in their lives. Whether you’re in one now, are coming out of one, or will be going into one, they are a part of life. No one enjoys going through hard times. Think about it — have you ever met someone who enjoyed going through a challenging time? Probably not.
There’s no medicine we can take to keep troubles away nor is there any amount of positive thinking or self-talk that will prevent us from going through hard times. So, while it may feel like we are the only ones going through our tough situations, we’re not.
We can find encouragement in what Jesus taught. He told us in John 16:33, “You will have trouble.” He understood what we’d be up against — a world full of depravity, sin, hatred, and a spiritual enemy who wants to destroy us. But thankfully, He also said that we can “take heart” because “He has overcome the world.” We don’t have to live discouraged in a discouraging world. We can still live a full, rich life knowing that in the end, we’ll be victorious.
Jesus came to earth for one reason — mankind. He came to save us and offer us eternal life. And many are often taught that if we say yes to Jesus and accept Him as our Savior, that trouble and difficult times will miss us altogether. That’s simply untrue.
Reading this Plan won’t eliminate the real challenges you’re facing, nor will it remove any heartache you’re enduring. What we hope it’ll do is offer you some strength and courage to keep taking the next step. You don’t have to take twenty steps today — just take the next one. And then tomorrow, take another one. We’ll talk about some of the whys behind our pain and how we can navigate the daunting roads that they bring.
Hopefully, as we discuss this topic, you’ll embrace just how much God loves you, how He will use your pain for His purposes, and how He’ll change you from the inside out. He has good plans for you, even in and through your pain. We encourage you to keep going to see just what they are.
Why We Experience Trials
When it comes to trials in our lives, one word that’s usually at the forefront of our lips is why. Because trials are difficult, painful, and miserable, we usually ask, “Why is this happening to me?” and we almost never get the answer we’re looking for. They make us doubt what we believe because our own desires are being tested.
As we learned on Day 1, Jesus taught us that we’d have trouble. Life as a Christ-follower isn’t void of difficulty. Our world is fallen and broken with fallen and broken people who do fallen and broken things. Of course, there will be trials. People will do things that will affect us. We’ll do things that will affect others and ourselves. We may not mean to, but our actions still cause pain in someone else’s life. Maybe even our own.
Here are a few reasons we go through trials:
Spiritual Development
Regardless of how trials enter our lives, they can be used as a tool to strengthen and develop our character and our faith. When we go through things that test our patience and resilience, we can either work with the trial and allow it to strengthen us or we can keep fighting against it. It is incredibly difficult to allow hard times to refine us but when we do, the finished product, which is a better, more godly version of ourselves, is worth it.
Consequences of Choices
There’s a harsh reality when it comes to choices and that’s the consequences that follow. Oftentimes, our trials and hardships are a direct result of how others live their lives and we live our lives. We can either suffer because of someone else’s actions or our own actions. Some actions are sinful, and when they are, the consequences that follow are anything but good.
Spiritual Attack
When it comes to Satan, our spiritual enemy, we either give him too much credit or too little credit. Every bad thing that happens to us is not his fault but understand that he does play a role in the difficult circumstances that we face.
On Day 3 of this Plan, we’ll dive into hope-filled Scriptures that will show us that God is always working to use anything and everything for our good as well as to impact the world.
How God Uses Trials
As we go through these challenging seasons in our lives, we either grow through them or we don’t. And there is no judgment if you find yourself still upset with God when hard times come your way. We’ve all been there. But, as we seek Him, we’ll find Him. One way we can tell that our faith is maturing through trials is when our “why” questions become “how” questions.
How are You going to use this in my life?
How will You impact others because of this trial?
How will You bring about good through this devastation?
There’s a popular phrase circling in Christian circles, and it’s that God wastes nothing. And that is absolutely our hope-filled truth. Whether we were thrown into unwanted, challenging circumstances or our choices led us there, God will use every single bit of it to redeem our lives, impact others, and receive glory. Let’s discuss what God does with our pain.
He Changes Us
When we suffer through fiery ordeals that hurt us deeply, most of us just want to “get over it.” But in order for us to truly be over it, we must go through it. We must push through the pain, addressing whatever is breaking our hearts in order to see healing on the other side. As we go through the storms in our lives, we will be stronger for it.
He Changes Others
Many of us have endured challenges in our lives that give us experience no formal education can. We may not have a degree from college but we are experts in our field of pain. God sees this and considers us His vessels to help others. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 1:3 that He “comforts us so we can comfort others.” He doesn’t allow us to encounter the darkest of adversities just to say we did it. No, His desire is that we take the comfort He gave us and share that with others.
Romans 8:28 says that “in all things” God is working for the good. Not in some things or a few things but in all things. God took the worst thing that could ever happen — Jesus dying on the cross — and used it for the greater good — the salvation of all mankind. The greater the pain, the greater opportunity there is for God’s redemption to be displayed beautifully. With each redemptive story, God receives glory for how He has turned the tragedies in our lives into triumphs.
On our final day of this Plan, we’ll discuss why our challenging seasons last longer than we’d like. And in the waiting, we’ll learn how to trust God more and grow in our faith.
The Waiting Room
We’ve all heard people use the phrase “in the meantime” while they’re waiting for something. When we’re in the waiting room, the “meantime,” waiting for our healing or our miracle, it’s often pretty mean, isn’t it?
So, what do we do in the meantime? How do we keep our faith and trust that God is working when we can’t see it? Here are some suggestions for us while we wait in our struggle:
Praise Him In Your Pain
One of the most important things we can do in our pain is worship God. He’s worthy of it every day. When we think of all He’s done for us and the eternity we’ll spend with Him, how can we not? Focus on God’s attributes — He’s infinite, unchanging, all-powerful, perfect, merciful, gracious and He’s everywhere all the time. We give God glory and praise before we get out of the trial or receive the outcome we desire.
Keep Lifting
In the midst of this pain, you may only see weakness on your part, not the spiritual muscles you’re growing or how strong you’re getting. But with each repetition of prayer, worship, reading God’s Word, and trusting His promises, your spirit is strengthening. It’s in our weakness that His strength is made perfect. Many say that trials make or break us. Trust that yours are making you.
Pour Out Your Heart
All of the pain you’re carrying doesn’t scare God. He can absolutely handle your questions, fears, and even your anger. Just keep coming to Him. Trials can make us cling to Christ or flee from Christ. Cling to Him. You may not grasp why this hardship is still present in your life. This is where you put into practice the truth you’ve learned when things weren’t tough. It’s a daily surrender and trust.
Keep Eternity In Mind
We must keep our eyes focused on eternity. When we focus on what is seen, we’re focusing on the temporary. It’s the unseen, the way God is working behind the scenes, that is eternal. God is accomplishing something in us, through us, for us, and yes, even with us. Let’s choose to exhibit patience as we see His perfect timeline come to pass.
As you endure your waiting room season, don’t be afraid to glance back and look at your progress. Because you’ve made some. And then, keep taking the next step. You never know when you’re going to wake up and see a break in your spiritual low-lying clouds. The day you think you can walk no further may be the day of your breakthrough.
