Here are four biblical promises to remember when your life gets really hard.
You’re Not Alone
Ever feel alone in your suffering? Paul reminds us that we’re not alone, writing that “as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true” (2 Corinthians 6:4-8). If you read Hebrews chapter 11, you can see that suffering can be expected for the believer since in the past, “some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth” (Hebrews 11:35-38).
Compassion and Mercy
Have you heard the phrase “misery loves company”? The early church was in great company by their suffering, so James wrote, “As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful” (James 5:10-11). He was saying that suffering is never wasted, and in the end, “the Lord is compassionate and merciful” and “does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities” (Psalm 103:10).
Remember Who God Is
It’s easy to feel isolated and that God is far from you, but when we start to emphasize what we feel over Who God is, we’re putting too much stock in feelings and not enough in God’s Word. Feelings are subjective and subject to error. God’s Word is always true and is objectively true regardless of what anyone thinks about it. You can think 2 + 2 = 5, but your subjective judgment is wrong; the objective truth is 2 + 2 = 4. When you feel that you’re all alone, ask yourself if this verse wrong: “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). Is it true, even if it doesn’t feel like it? Yes, because what you feel doesn’t change what is true. Remember that, just as God told Joshua, He would tell you, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). God says of Himself, “For I the LORD do not change” (Malachi 3:6), and God is not like “man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it” (Numbers 23:19)? Read John 3:16–it’s true.
Being Strengthened in the Struggle
Did you know that the most rapid time of growth of trees is not during a calm wind or gentle rain or even after fertilizing? Trees grow most rapidly in storms. They grow stronger because the strong winds shear off the old, dead branches. The growth rate of the tree spikes when the fierce winds cause it to grow faster to resist the force of the winds. Botanists say that trees living with no wind resistance at all will grow weaker and weaker. The branches will break off under their own weight, and the tree will eventually die. If the butterfly doesn’t go through the struggle to escape the cocoon, it will die.
Conclusion
We can become stronger in our struggles or muted in our faith. We can comfort others by the same comfort we’ve been given (2 Corinthians 1:4), or we can be a discomfort when around others. Suffering makes us dependent upon God. It keeps us humble. It makes us yearn for the kingdom. When life gets hard, get into the Word, for the Word has both the power to save and the power to comfort when life gets hard.
May God richly bless you,
Pastor Jack Wellman