Three Ways to Tackle Difficult Times

 

One day things are going fine…and the next day, not so much.  Life can change so fast you wonder, “What is going on?  What just happened?”  The world as we know it will be changed forever by the pandemic of COVID-19.  We endured massive change after 9/11 and this event will transform us again.

These are uncertain times and unsettled days. And even as Christians, it can be hard not to worry. Let me encourage you: God isn’t shocked or surprised. He sits above time. He knows the beginning from the end. And with faith in God, we know He is going to get us through this difficult time and bring us out better on the other side. With God, all things are possible!

We can trust that He is with us through every challenge we face, and we are ultimately going to come out stronger in the end.  With that in mind, I want to share three ways you can tackle difficult times:

Get Comfortable With Not Knowing

It’s just human nature to try and figure things out.  So, when we’re in the middle of a situation, we can quickly find ourselves trying to reason our way through it. We generally want to know “Why, God, why?” or “When, God, when?”  We want to know now how everything is going to work out.

But when we trust God, we have to get comfortable with not knowing everything – not knowing how God is going to accomplish what needs to be done and not knowing when He will do it.

Instead, God wants to direct our paths, and that means He sometimes leads us in ways that don’t make sense to us. If we try to figure everything out we will experience struggle and confusion. But there is a better way.

Instead, we can completely lean on Him, believing He wants what’s best for us. I know it’s easier said than done, especially when life happens – when we can’t quite see how everything’s going to work out and we are tempted to take matters into our own hands.

Proverbs 3:5-8, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding in all your ways submit to him and he will make your paths straight….

Discern Fear

Don’t give place to fear in your mind or heart.  Troubling, fearful thoughts are going to try and bombard your mind.  When these thoughts come, you can say, “I will not fear, and I will not make decisions based on fear.  This battle is the Lord’s, and I put my trust in Him!  You can live free of fear and walk in wisdom and peace.

Enter God’s Rest

Saying we trust God is one thing, but when we really trust Him and lean on Him, we enter His rest. It’s a special kind of rest that you can have even in the middle of difficult circumstances. Everything doesn’t have to be perfect and you don’t have to have all the answers, but you are trusting God to take care of you.

Most of us have spent our lives trying to take care of ourselves, but we must learn to trust our lives to His care. When we try to do things in our own strength and leave that out, we just get worn out and frustrated. But when we fully lean on God it brings us His peace. When we stop trying to figure everything out, God can be God in our life.

I want to encourage you to trust God completely in every area of your life. Remember that He is always on your side and He is fighting for you as you go through the challenges in your life. He loves you and has your best interest at heart at all times, and He is close to you when you’re hurting most.

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Many times, things happen that we simply don’t understand. But that’s okay – God doesn’t expect us to have everything figured out. We can trust that He knows and will take care of everything. He wants us to look to him and say, “God, I have no idea what I’m going to do, but I’m trusting you to take care of me.”

The truth is when we are facing difficult situations that we don’t understand, one of the best things we can do is to trust God. It allows Him to take the wrong things that have happened and work them out for our benefit.

 Romans 8:28 says, And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose.

Segments of this article were shared from Joyce Meyer’s Enjoying Everyday Life Magazine.