You often question, “WHY GOD..WHY?! I don’t understand. How can I be following you or how can you love me and my life look as though I’m alone?”
I often used to see myself asking the same question. Then I came face to face with a real love, a real Jesus and my confusion turned into, “God what is the reasoning behind the valley that I’m having to truck through and what’s the purpose of the mountain that I’m facing? I trust that you love me, but what’s the reason? Why do I hurt, why do people talk bad about me, why do I think that I am ugly, why do people tell me that I am not good enough, why is it that I can’t seem to get over this addiction, why is it that I know what’s right and I still choose the wrong, why is it that I can never measure up to what people want me to be, why is it that I always feel like I can’t do anything right –WHY?!?!?!”
I want you to know that the first thing the enemy would tell you is that you’re alone in these thoughts, in these feelings, and this place of being. That is a lie and nothing but a lie. In fact, you’re never alone because God is always there. Always. He’s there when you don’t feel him, he’s there when you need him most, and he’s there when you don’t want him there. HE’S ALWAYS THERE.
I want to expose something that the enemy has caused many of us to believe. I want to expose the thought that you go through hard times because God is punishing you. I want you to see what the bible tells us about trials and tribulations. In James 1:2 – Consider it pure JOY, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
If trials bring me to a place of maturity and completeness, then I say BRING IT ON! Why let the enemy bring you down in the hard times when all you’re gaining is wholeness- a wholeness that LACKS NOTHING. What an awesome thing. God always turns everything into the good. I pray and long that everyone will begin to see with the eyes of Jesus and not our own fleshly eyes. Let’s begin to thank God for hardships and times of fighting the fight of faith. I read this morning in John 9:1-7 and it happened to just bring more revelation over this subject. It states:
“As he- talking about Jesus- went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam-which means Sent-. So the man WENT and washed, and come home seeing.”
This is a perfect example. You see, it wasn’t that this guy was being punished because of someone’s lifestyle of sin as most people would have thought. Instead Jesus shook their brains and said the exact opposite. It was because he wanted to use that guys weakness to shine. If you are always strong and always having everything together how in the world is Jesus able to show himself strong. I know people don’t like to admit they are weak, but the time that you can’t admit your weak is the time that you are telling Jesus you don’t need him. I believe that it’s time that we come boldly before the throne of God admitting were are NOTHING BUT WEAK.
Lord please use us. Lord give me weaknesses if it is an opportunity for you to reveal the beauty and power of who you are. Use my struggles and shine right through them. I believe that God LOVES you so much that he uses your weakness to show off his glory in. Why your life? Because he trusts that you are willing to sacrifice and surrender to him, for the sake of others. I hope and pray that all of you would get to the point where valleys turn into the peaks and struggles turn into his glory.
Lord I give you permission, TO SHINE, JESUS, SHINE – EVEN if it requires me to struggle. Your will is more important than anything I have to endure to ensure that it happens. Humble us oh Jesus.
I want you to remember when you let God shine through your weakness you are being what he has called you to be, “the LIGHT OF THE WORLD.”
- Natalie Hallford
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