In Dark moments There’s still hope
Here’s the Truth
I’m not going to lie.
Suffering sucks. Any kind of pain is hard and unpleasant. The darkness encroaches and appears to shroud any sliver of light.
Can anyone else relate?
Yet, I find it interesting what happens on the other side of the struggle.
We look back and see how much we’ve grown. We come out of the tunnel with a different perspective.
Maybe a clearer view.
Perhaps appreciating the light even more. Or knowing we’ll never make those mistakes again or take a similar path. Or it pushes us to keep persevering with what we already knew to be true.
Dare I say I’ve been thankful for the hard times? Because the hard times chip away at the imperfections and refine us. And we grow.
If nothing grew in this world, life would be non-existent. Uneventful. Pointless.
There would be no chance to work. To dream. To try something new. Or to rejoice in the fruit of the labor.
Think about it for a minute.
Without change, life would be one long linear line. No mountaintops or valleys. No seasons to mark events.
Maybe you’re thinking well, I’ll gladly take the mountaintops and joyous seasons. But I’d be content to leave out the valleys and painful markers of life.
I hear you!
As I thought through this concept of pain, I gained a better perspective through comparing it to stories.
(Stick with me here!)
The Worst, and Simultaneously Best, Part of a Story
What do we love most about stories?
The adventure!
The thrill of the events. The ups and downs, twists and turns the characters find themselves thrown into.
And why do we savor these stories so much?
Because we see the characters change over time!
We see them persevere, find their resolve, decide what matters most to them in life and then fight for it.
We see them lay down lies they once believed and walk in truth.
And we celebrate with them when they come out of the dark moments into the light once more!
I’m going to let you in on a writer’s secret.
We do the worst things we can think of to our characters. It’s cruel, I know. There’s a specific part in a story where the difficult events keep building in intensity. It goes from disaster to destruction to the darkest moment they could encounter.
The sufferings and hardships grow seemingly insurmountable until they must decide what they will do about two crucial ideas.
Are they going to fight through it? Against the fears, lies, and odds stacked against them–will they take what they’ve been learning on the journey and fight or shrink back?
What will they believe about God? The truth and hope they’ve been given about Jesus throughout the story demands a response. Will they walk in surrendered obedient trust or turn to their own views of goodness?
A Precious Promise for You
1 Peter 1:3-7 (NIV) says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith–of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire–may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
Did you catch it?
There’s purpose in the pain!
The suffering we endure is to refine us and prove the genuineness of our faith.
Just like characters need to decide if they are going to press through their darkest moments, as a believer in Jesus, these trials show if you are willing to press through your darkest moments to the treasure that waits on the other side.
What’s the treasure you ask?
Jesus.
He’s given us a new birth. A living hope. An inheritance that will never deteriorate.
And we get to rejoice in the midst of the grief–why?
Because of the promise we’re given. We’re shielded by God’s power, and we know what waits for us in heaven.
He’s the triumph, the hope, the victory in the midst of the tragedy and heartache.
It’s all for the glory and praise of God!
I pray that this precious truth from Scripture encourages your heart, today.
By God’s grace, keep pressing forward–even in your darkest moments. Because it’s preparing you for the greatest treasure you could ever hope for. Communing with Jesus, Himself for all eternity.
And when you look back, it will be a thrilling tapestry of all the mountains and valleys that refined you, and you can point to the One who carried you through it all.
For His glory,
Laura