struggling – when it hurts

I know the situations and people in my life I had to forgive. Some of them have been deeply difficult.

There is no one-size-fits-all. Because once you point the way to someone, there is always a yes, but you don’t know what I’ve been through.

You’re right. I don’t. But God does.

I am so sure of God and his promises, there is nothing anyone can go through that cannot be forgiven.

Forgiveness isn’t a feeling. There is some real struggling in our emotions and that is okay.

Forgiveness is a choice. The feelings fall into place.

It’s like a wound that has to be cleaned before it will heal. We all know what that feels like. It’s uncomfortable but we grimace and trust the process.

Trust has to be part of forgiveness. Just like there is only one way to clean a wound so it will not get infected, there is only one way to trust when you forgive. Self-help books, positive thinking, and anything else that promises good energy are temporary.

When we put our complete trust in what God says we will stop replaying the injustice in our mind.

He wants us our minds to be at peace no matter what is happening around us. The only way is to know there are situations way beyond our control or understanding. We can either throw our hands up in defeat or we can lift them to God for help.

It doesn’t stop there. God created us to see beyond today. When you know all that God tells us about eternity, we are comforted knowing there is more. A day when he promises to wipe away every tear; no more sorrow or death.

There is so much I do not understand. I’ve asked all the whys.

But there is much I do understand. Life can be painful and God gives us a way to live with it.

The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.

Summer is fading...

Photo by solar.empire on Trend Hype / CC BY-NC-ND

Nothing will completely remove the pain we feel through the losses and struggles in our life.

But there is a way to live through it.

This morning, I was talking to my 14 year old about contentment since he asked about it concerning his literature assignment.

I said, imagine if you are swimming across a lake and you begin to struggle. You are getting tired and eventually are gasping for air. Then you feel an arm reach around you, helping to bring you safely to shore.

Would you push away this help?

Would you fight it and say you can do it alone?

Would you blame your savior for your inability to swim the lake?

Would you even be angry at the lake?

We live in a world of very wonderful moments, full of beauty and enjoyment. But it is intermingled with pain and struggles. God doesn’t hide this from us. He clearly tells us in the scripture we will have pain and suffering, but says He is with us always.

God is that hand reaching down to us. Do you fight against Him?

As you learn to trust Him, you learn to be content no matter what your circumstances are, because you have come to know He is with you.

Some people stay angry with their struggles and even turn their anger toward God, saying he should have prevented this or that.

We don’t have all the answers. That is what faith is. It is believing what God says even when we don’t feel like it. Soon we find ourselves becoming stronger and content because we also learn that life is short compared to eternity, where God is waiting for us, ready to wipe away all our tears (and perhaps explain some things!)

It is clear our world is imperfect. We see sickness, loss, physical and mental pain, and death.

It’s not fair.

Yet, it is what it is and how we deal with it will make us either suffer in our own bitterness or we find contentment despite our suffering.

Contentment is like a steady, burning candle. There are no extremes of excessive light, searching your mind for every negative emotion, nor shadowy dimness, pulling you into an abyss of darkness and despair.

Contentment is light that provides you with what you need for today.

If you want it.