I’m looking at that quote on my new computer screen background as I start this blog; “Faith gets us through the darkness.” Kudos to whoever said this first, you must have had the same revelation I did. It’s the perfect quote that God has been revealing to me for a LONG time, it never clicked until this week.
This week started like any other, but man has it been a whirlwind of changed plans, unexpectedness, and sadness. It sounds so trivial but as a DINK millennial my pets are my children. My beloved cat, P got incredibly sick with pancreatitis and the vet kept throwing out the C word (Cancer). After 10 years as my side kick getting me through breakups, change ups, and screw ups, I couldn’t bear the thought that now or soon, may be the time I say goodbye to him. I got angry, my typical response to any sort of trauma. A lot of you don’t know the full story of my life, the trauma, and the ups and downs, but when I tell you I’ve been through about everything in life, I mean it.
It always seemed that any time anything good happened in my life, something terrible was lurking in the corner ready to reveal itself. I questioned God, why? Why do you always allow this, with anger in my voice. Let me provide a few examples; I got engaged to Reid and my recently passed mom’s cat passed away when we got home from our trip. Reid and I got married and my grandma passed away a day before unexpectedly. Reid and I just got baptized now this?? Make it make sense, I questioned God. The ultimate roller-coaster of highs and lows define my life.
Let me be the first to say, God can handle our anger, our questioning, and our doubts, just don’t let that be your newfound reality, it’s a dangerous eternal game you do not want to play.
As I questioned Him in anger at this new tragedy in my life, He revealed something important with me, that I feel the world needs to hear.
Through many miraculous acts of God, he revealed that when we live in the world, we will have trial and tribulation because we belong to Jesus, when we belong to Jesus, we are tested, trialed, persecuted, and hated in the same way Jesus was. The world hates us as we live our best lives in Christ. It’s too much to put into words but if you open your bibles to John 15:1- 16:33, it will all be laid out neatly from God (I highly suggest reading it, with the mindset of this blog in your mind, you'll see God's Wisdom at work).
The world tests our faith, our sanity, our love, our goodness, our graciousness, and the ruler of the world would like to steal all of it from us, including our eternity.
While we are facing all kinds of evil in this world, “we should consider it pure joy” James 1:2-4, because this means that we WILL inherit the kingdom of heaven. In other words, we are living life right to die and be raised into heaven one day.
Let me be the first to say, this does not diminish, invalidate, or extinguish the reality of these situations, they come with sadness, mourning, pain, bitterness, anger, and all kinds of other emotions that are not so amazing to feel.
Lean into God during these times, do not give up on Him. If you do, you allow your emotions and the situation to overtake you, you doubt in the Kingdom of Heaven and you give away the only joy you’ll get once it is all said and done; a joy that cannot compare to anything else in this physical world. Most importantly of all, you give up your eternity, letting the devil win (friend, don't let him win). This world is a hard, unloving place at times, when we feel this way, remember that Jesus is holding out his hand on the sea of life ready to help you across the water.
If you’re anything like me, music helps me express and work through the emotions along with acceptance of hard things, here are some of my favorites from one of my favorites; Sheryl Crow, that I think relate well to this topic (Spotify links below):
God’s Promise:
Use this summed up message to mediate, dissect, journal, sit on it, whatever works for you.
“While on this Earth, we are going to suffer in the exact same ways that Jesus suffered. However, when we die, we will experience peace and love that surpass all understanding. God has promised that during our trials and tribulations on this Earth, He will be with us, turn to Him. God has told us these things, so that when they happen, we don’t lose our faith in Him. God has overcome the world so these trials and tribulations, as painful as they may be in the moment, are nothing compared to the Kingdom of Heaven. This is why when we suffer God tells us to look at it as pure joy because this means that we are leading a life like Jesus, and that the world hates us for that. We shouldn’t fear the things that happen; it is expected when living a Christian life. We are not always sure of the outcome, but something we can always be sure of is that God is there with us amid everything. That alone is so powerful.
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