Have you ever felt depressed, defeated, doomed, and in complete despair? As if nothing is going right in your life and you’re in a deep, dark tunnel with no light in sight? Have you found yourself asking God:  how long? Why me? Why this? What now? How will I move forward from here? Where are you?  Everyone, at one point in life or another, will experience heartache of different kinds and for various reasons. It could be from losing loved ones through death, loss of friendships, divorce, debilitating  or incurable  illnesses that cause afflictions to the body and mind, a wayward child, infertility… the list is endless. Whatever it is that you are going through, I empathize and sympathize with you. I am here to tell you to hang in there and be encouraged for ‘this too shall pass.’ Psalms 30:5 says “…weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning” (NKJV).

The Bible does not promise an easy, smooth sailing life with no troubles or difficulties. In fact, John 16:33 says the opposite “in this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (NIV). While God may not remove our calamities, He offers hope and peace to walk through them. He encourages us not to lose heart because although it may appear like we are “wasting away outwardly, we are being renewed inwardly day by day.” The Bible says, “we must fix our eyes not on what is seen” (our troubles, pain, brokenness, etc) because they are temporary. Instead, we must fixate our gazes on what is not seen, which is eternal life and hope through Jesus  (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV).  The eternal hope I speak of helps us bring things into perspective. It helps us to cry out to God and lean on Him for direction and guidance. It strengthens our faith and brings us peace.

God wants to utilize our heartache for good. Yes, He could have prevented it but He did not for a reason. That reason may not be evident at the time but in due time it will be revealed. In hindsight we will see His fingerprints all along, holding us and seeing us through. Sisters, let us “consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18 NKJV). I am not making light of your pain because it is real, but I pray and encourage you to surrender it to the only one who could strengthen you and carry you through it. I have heard many stories from victims of sexual abuse who testify how God used their nightmare to empower them to help others. Many of them have created programs to help victims overcome the same evil deeds that befell them. Because of their first hand experience with the trauma, they know exactly how to reach out and touch the sensitive areas in the hearts of those living through it.

Ecclesiastes 3 says “to everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven…a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, And a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance… He has made everything beautiful in its time…(Ecclesiastes 3:3-4, 11 NKJV). Please understand that troubles will not last always, they are merely stepping stones to your destination. A beautiful testimony is coming your way.

When we become discouraged, let us look at the lives of some of the Bible heroes and allow their stories to encourage us. Remember Joseph who was betrayed by his own brothers, sold into slavery, accused and imprisoned for a crime he did not commit? Let us also remember how God used his misfortunes to save the land from famine. Remember Paul, who was shipwrecked, bitten by a poisonous snake, tortured, and imprisoned for preaching the gospel? At the same time, let us not forget how God used his tribulation to bring us hope through the many books written by Paul in the Bible. Remember infamous job? How he lost everything, his children, riches, and even health, but in the end, God restored him and gave him way more then he initially possessed. There are more Bible as well as real life heroes who underwent the unspeakable and unimaginable, but through their sorrows, God built their characters, nourished their faith, empowered them, and prepared them for a greater good. One thing all of these Bible heroes have in common is their unwavering trust in God. Even through their anger, depression, abuse, and setbacks, they held on to the only one who could comfort their hearts despite the raging storms in their lives.

My dear sisters, I am here to reassure you that, although dim and seemingly nonexistent right now, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Your season of calamity will soon be a thing of the past. Even if you endure the pain for the rest of your life, the one who created you will give you the peace, guidance, and resilience to live day by day despite your problems. All He requires is for you to trust and surrender your heart to Him. Your job is not to figure things out, blame yourself, live in the past or in regret. He promises to direct your path if you acknowledge Him in all your ways (Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV).

I pray that “the Lord will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail” (Isaiah 58:11 NKJV). When you  have travailed to the other side of your misery and realize how much stronger, humble, and influential you are, you will understand why it was necessary to undergo the pain; and it would have been all worth it.

Prayer

Dear Jesus,

Thank you for the strength to move forward when all I want to do is give up. Thank you for enveloping my heart with peace and comfort despite the difficulties I endure. Please help me to keep my eyes on you and trust you even when I cannot grasp or understand what is going on and why; and even when it appears as though you have forsaken me. I know in due time, your glory will be revealed and my pain will not have been in vain. Please direct my path and keep me in your good and perfect will for my life. In Jesus name, Amen

Relatable Verses

• For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning. Psalms 30:5 NKJV https://bible.com/bible/114/psa.30.5.NKJV

• For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Romans 8:18 NKJV https://bible.com/bible/114/rom.8.18.NKJV

• Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16‭-‬18 NIV‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/111/2co.4.16-18.NIV

• Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5‭-‬6 NKJV‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/114/pro.3.5-6.NKJV

• Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. Matthew 7:24‭-‬25 NKJV‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/114/mat.7.24-25.NKJV

• The Lord will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. Isaiah 58:11 NKJV https://bible.com/bible/114/isa.58.11.NKJV

• “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. John 15:18‭-‬21 NKJV‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/114/jhn.15.18-21.NKJV

• “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

• Ecclesiastes 3 NKJV Read the entire chapter https://bible.com/bible/114/ecc.3.1.NKJV