As you’ve probably figured out from the name of this blog, I have a great deal of faith in the hand of God. When we share our stories (especially those we’d prefer to hide away from view), I think it’s important to remember that no matter how painful the experiences may have been, sharing them with others is a vital part healing the pain AND allowing it to be used for God’s glory.

We tend to look at the lives of other people and pass a judgement on whether their path is harder or easier to endure than our own. That is one of the best distractions the enemy has to use against us. Satan would have you believe nobody else could possibly understand how bad you feel or how hard your days are to endure. He would have you compare your struggles to those of close friends and family, and he would have you choose to isolate yourself and suffer alone behind a wall of fear and shame. But that’s the enemy’s way, not the way of the Lord.

“Again I say to you, that if two believers on earth agree [that is, are of one mind, in harmony] about anything that they ask [within the will of God], it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in My name [meeting together as My followers], I am there among them.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭18:19-20‬ ‭AMP‬‬

That is a very clear assurance from God that believers are stronger together than when they try to go it alone. My husband and I had a wonderful conversation about this yesterday, which brought to mind one of my favorite analogies on why it’s illogical to compare the struggles of one person to those of another.

Imagine a field full of rocks in multiple shapes and sizes. Add a handful of people and the task of moving all the rocks to the top of a nearby hill. The natural order is for each person to carry the rocks they are able to manage within the boundaries of their given size and strength. A person who is large in stature with a strong musculature is going to have the capacity to carry those larger rocks to the top, while someone much smaller, perhaps with physical ailments, will use all the effort they have to help move the smaller rocks up the slope.

Regardless of the size of the rock, it takes an equal amount of effort for the person carrying it. Basically, the one hauling the smaller stones is working just as hard as the one lugging the boulders. The effort and struggle is equal in proportion, even though the size of the loads appear out of balance. The end result is the same… each person gains strength, stamina, and patience in spirit, just as the body benefits from physical exercise. Our burdens may be different, but we’re all working equally hard to endure them well.

One of my favorite passages from the book of James gives the best guidance for me in how to approach the pain and hardships of my human existence. How important must these words be, given their location at the beginning of the book?

“Consider it nothing but joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you fall into various trials. Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace]. And let endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed [in your faith], lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom [to guide him through a decision or circumstance], he is to ask of [our benevolent] God, who gives to everyone generously and without rebuke or blame, and it will be given to him. But he must ask [for wisdom] in faith, without doubting [God’s willingness to help], for the one who doubts is like a billowing surge of the sea that is blown about and tossed by the wind. For such a person ought not to think or expect that he will receive anything [at all] from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable and restless in all his ways [in everything he thinks, feels, or decides].”
‭‭James‬ ‭1:2-8‬ ‭AMP‬‬

I believe that we, as believers in Christ, often have a misconception that we live in the space between God and our worldly battles. We get so lost in emotion, we can easily buy into the notion that we are exposed… we are blinded to the fact that He exists all around us. He stands between us and every temptation Satan can throw our way. It’s our faith in His all-encompassing presence that makes it effective against the temptations of the enemy.

If we refuse to rely on His presence, He can’t use it as effectively to protect us. That’s why we have to ask for His help in faith, BELIEVING that He will do exactly as we ask. We have to accept that even if everything goes sideways and nothing feels ok, we’re still going to be able to get through. It’s learning that we’re going to be ok, even when nothing seems ok in the world around us.

I’ve wondered how best to begin telling some of my story. From very early on, I was blessed with a spirit of love and humor. I understand that God equipped me with everything I’d need to walk through a wide variety of life experiences. I may not have walked through many of them very gracefully, but what I’ve gained from them has put me in a position to have an enormous testimony of how powerful the hand of God truly is in our lives. Through the sacrifice of Christ, I was given the gift of God’s constant presence, and what an amazing gift that is…it is the gift that provides the only real peace we can ever know in this world.

Our greatest effort should go into learning to accept the peace of the Lord instead of trying to create it for ourselves. There is no job, no house, no relationship, no amount of money that will ever bring the peace and security we gain by needing nothing more than God. When we buy into the lie that our circumstances are the source of our peace, then we’ll always be chasing after it, unaware we are chasing a phantom. Trusting God is the only way to accept the peace He offers, and only way to finally get some rest and shelter from the storm.