I feel battle-weary this week. It seems that no matter which way you turn, you get knocked down by another crisis. It is often in these times that we lose hope. We feel as if the situation will never resolve. Fear grips our world as we struggle through so many arguments, misunderstandings, outright attacks—the future seems grim and without hope.
This must have been true of every significant event in history. The point at which people wonder if it will ever be over, if our story will ever change. The people surviving the World War 1 and 2 with the Great Depression in the middle, aching to see the world free of conflict and just trying to feed families and keep people alive. The confusion of the Crusades in which people who claimed to be Christian pursued the demented idea that murdering people was the way to their salvation, while those who believed that Jesus loved and did not attack had to stand faithful to their people amidst the conflict. The persecution of Christians by Romans and the persecution of Christians today in China, India, so many other countries. And the division, death and suffering caused by evil in the world continues today. I can imagine that people in each of these dark places wondered if it would ever end, if God would ever rescue humanity out of such a mess that they had created.
He always does. He always sends help. Even if it’s not in the way or time we would choose, He moves in the suffering places to bring people freedom. You see, I think we often believe that death and suffering is the worst it can get, but separation from Him is actually worse. No, I don’t want anyone to be hurt, and neither does God. But can we push into the pain, realizing that there is a bigger picture to this—that sometimes pain is something that pushes us to compassion, to reaching out to others, to making a way ahead that otherwise would not be, and to a depth of relationship with Him.
I want to spare my children from any and every pain, but I know that if they never struggle or suffer, they will never develop character and humility. As much as I don’t want pain in their lives, I don’t want them to be entitled and uncaring even more. But I can tell you that I will never send them to walk their pain alone. Even if I can’t free them from it, I want to be walking with them.
Even more so, Jesus walks with us through every pain, knowing that He will be enough in our weakness if we will let Him. We don’t have to drown in fear because He is our courage. We don’t have to hate our weaknesses because He is our strength in that weakness. We don’t have to be overwhelmed by the world around us because He brings us above the fray to see past it. We are already seated with Him in the heavenlies (and no, I don’t understand how that works, but it’s a great perspective shift!) and so we don’t have to be afraid of the world taking from us. They can’t steal our hope, our joy, our peace. It isn’t tied to a situation, but instead attached to the Holy Spirit who lives within us and no one can destroy.
We can be distracted, though, can’t we? I know that when I get distracted, I obsess on news stories, on personal stories, on fear, on what-if’s. None of it is productive, and it steals all my joy. Don’t let the distractions steal your focus. When you feel yourself getting overwhelmed and afraid, come back to the focus on Jesus and how He will be enough for today. Don’t go to tomorrow or years down the road. Instead, place your trust in Him. He has always been there, and will see us through.
I admit that I haven’t yet acquired the absolute fullness that I’m pursuing, but I run with passion into his abundance so that I may reach the purpose for which Christ Jesus laid hold of me to make me his own. I don’t depend on my own strength to accomplish this; however I do have one compelling focus: I forget all of the past as I fasten my heart to the future instead. I run straight for the divine invitation of reaching the heavenly goal and gaining the victory-prize through the anointing of Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14