maybe it’s a hard place
January 13, 2010 | Faith: Knowing Christ
It’s 3:30 a.m. and many of you are on my heart. As I read through the comments yesterday, it appeared that while some of you are at a crossroads, many of you are in a hard place. First, I want to honestly say I’m sorry that you are in pain. I’ve been in that hard place before and it’s—for lack of a better word—hard.
Some people say that Christians should never have bad times, but I don’t believe that. We all encounter hard places. In Scripture, you see it over and over.
I see Peter walking away after rejecting Jesus. He is ashamed of himself, embarrassed, broken. What a hard place to be for a man who loved Jesus so much. (Luke 22:62)
I see Paul and Barnabas in prison, beaten, bruised, in stocks with seemingly no way out. A hard place, especially when they were doing all the right things. (Acts 16)
I see Mary standing at the foot of the cross, every promise she ever believed appeared to be crushed because she couldn’t see beyond the broken body of her son. (John 19:25)
But there was an after for each of these.
Jesus forgave Peter freely and set him back on the right path. Paul and Barnabas chose to praise God in that dark place and the prison was literally shaken by the hand of God. Mary saw her son after he was risen and suddenly it all made sense. Somehow in the suffering God was glorified and all the promises were true.
In James MacDonald’s book, When Life is Hard, he says, “When life is hard, we can learn much about who God is and how to access His strength.”
Suzie, I’ve made some bad moves.
Haven’t we all, sis? But the strongest move of all is to acknowledge that and invite God into the mess with you. Lord, you see me. You see the mess I’ve made. Will you forgive me? Will you set me back on the right path? (1 John 1:9)
God is the redeemer. Don’t take His work in your life lightly. That in itself becomes a crossroad.
Suzie, I’ve not done anything wrong. I’m just in a really hard place.
Remember my story yesterday about Richard and I and our farming business? I have more of those stories, like when I had cancer at the age of 32, or when my son was hit by a drunk driver and in the hospital for six weeks and then in physical therapy for another year.
Hard, hard places.
I look back now and see that God cradled me during those times. He was my shelter. He was my comfort. He was my rock. I didn’t always see that at the time, but hindsight shows me clearly that I was never alone.
When I am weak, He is strong.
That strength may come moment by moment, or hour by hour. It might help you to put one foot in front of the other, or allow you to stand with your arms lifted in praise while the world seemingly crumbles around you.
You may not see the after yet. But whether you are at a crossroads or a mountain, the most powerful move you or I can make is to invite God into the process.
Can we begin there, together, today?
And I am convinced that nothing can every separate us from God’s love. Neither death , nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. (New Living Bible – Romans 8:38-39)
Tomorrow we’ll talk more about what to do in the crossroads. I’ll get specific with some of the issues shared in the comments. I hope you’ll join me.
Suzie
If you want to download today’s blogpost so that you can study it further: Blog Post #1.
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Thank you for this post Suzie.
I’m seeing the after now. My whole life God has been working on issues in me that I’ve carried from childhood to adulthood. God saved our marriage from destruction and delivered me from Fibromyalgia. It’s truly an amazing miracle.
January 13th, 2010 at 10:44 amSuzie, thank you! Your words are so comforting to me now. I’m trying to pick up the pieces after being in a year long relationship that today I realize is going no where. And even with this realization how do I tell my poor heart not to hurt? That tomorrow will be a better day when I can’t get past the pain and tears? My crossroads is making that conscience decision of putting it all in the Lord’s hands because only He will give me that comfort, that peace I’m longing for. But how?
January 13th, 2010 at 12:32 pmThanks again for the words of encouragment, Suzie! The after… man is it hard to wait for! I am anxious about the after… not in a bad way, but in a good way! I can’t wait to see how the Lord is going to continue to provide for my husband and our family. I know the Lord is so close to us, and it’s through the hard times that he allows for our roots to grow deeper into HIM… and to learn more of what HIS character is.
These hard times, I must admit I truly am thankful for them because I know that in the end I have more experience that I can share and relate to others with.
Thank you for your inspiring words.. thank you for being open to the Lord’s calling in your life and allowing Him to speak through you.
January 13th, 2010 at 2:18 pmLove your sister in CHRIST
Thanks for your post…crossroads yeah!
God is with us…I think of the song “The more I seek you”
The more I seek you
Lyrics to The More I Seek You by Kari Jobe :
The more i seek you,
the more i find you
The more i find you, the more I love you
C:I wanna sit at your feet
drink from the cup in your hand.
Lay back against you and breath, here your heart beat
This love is so deep, it’s more than I can stand.
I melt in your peace, it’s overwhelming
(From Top)
Chorus:4x
January 13th, 2010 at 4:38 pmPowerful words and very true! GOD is so amazing and at times it just blows me away!
January 14th, 2010 at 8:15 amI’m looking forward to the next post about what to do in the crossroads.
Suzie -
January 14th, 2010 at 10:24 amWow! I really am blessed by this message. I know God knows every hard place or crossroad in my life – the blessing is that He is with me in those places. It is whether or not I’m willing to let Him guide me in and through those times that makes the difference. I’m learning that lesson…it has taken many mistakes on my part, but I am learning. I’m so thankful for a merciful, loving Father who won’t leave me out in the wilderness.