When We Suffer

Sometimes it is knowing God in our suffering that brings us closest to Him… because there’s nowhere else to go, & because He understands. Our sufferings do not compare to what Jesus went through – nails driven through his very flesh & affixed to a wooden crucifix to die on mocked display for all mankind’s evil {& with unspeakable forgiveness & love fueling His Passion, nonetheless - He became the perfect sacrifice} - but our wounds are still desperately & darkly hurting places where the evil one prowls about to back us into hiding corners {think Adam & Eve} & bondage from shame & guilt {the very things Christ died to free us from} {Is this a run-on sentence, or what?}. However, what the devil intended for harm, God can use to accomplish His good {Genesis 50:20}, because our anguish can help us understand in our own minuscule way more of Christ, through survival of our own brokenness, & in the end knowing it is only through Him that we could have made it to the other side of the valley.

So many times during the storms of life we feel alone & as if God is a far piece off, but just like when Jesus appeared walking on the waves to his disciples huddled in fear on a wildly rocking fishing boat {see John 6:16-21 for more}, He is in the very midst of our tempests, & it is often at the end of a trial that we can look back & say, “God must have been with me, otherwise I’d never have made it,” - & then we know He was there with us, carrying us with His grace & love & understanding all along. He is with you today in whatever you’re facing; I just wanted you to know… & I think He did, too.

Love & Strength for the Storm {Through Christ},
-Bess-