Life is full of setbacks and stress, dilemmas and disappointments, conflicts and crises:
- The new dishwasher springs a leak and damages the adjacent cabinet before it’s discovered
- Your new boss consistently demands more than you can deliver without overtime, but there’s no extra pay since you’re salaried
- The company you work for is looking to sell; everyone is anxious how the sale will impact employees
- Your sister and her husband seem headed for divorce; he won’t go to counseling
- Your daughter was just diagnosed with Type-1 diabetes
If it’s not one thing, it’s another. How can we “be strong and take heart” as the imaged scripture above encourages us to do?
The psalmist King David tells us where to begin in the very same verse:
HOPE IN THE LORD
And how do we do that?
We keep our eyes open for God’s encouragement as he gives light to our path, provision for our needs, and blessings to lift our spirits. (A previous post, “Sacred Hands Behind the Scenes,” provides a few examples.)
Watchfulness often leads to amazement, and noticing what God is doing now fuels our hope for what he will do in the future.
Also good to remember? Some of the most beautiful and sacred encounters with God occur during the difficult seasons of life.
Christina Gibson observed, “In positions of flux, in the horrible disappointments, I usually have the greatest opportunity for a sacred encounter . . . I don’t know if it’s because I’m more malleable or if God has a soft spot for suffering” [1].
We’d also be wise to:
EMBRACE GRACE
“The greater your knowledge of the goodness and grace of God in your life, the more likely you are to praise him in the storm”[2].
And praise has a way of cheering and strengthening the soul.
We mustn’t forget to also embrace grace for ourselves. We’re human, with physical, mental, and emotional limits.
God has provided the grace of sleep, rest, food, relationships and more to replenish us. We’re wise to take time to do so—and set aside the false guilt for doing so.
ACT KINDLY TOWARD OTHERS
A strange phenomenon occurs when we care for others and ease their burdens—even through small acts of thoughtfulness. Our own heavy hearts grow lighter.
Kindness produces a number of benefits by reducing unhealthy self-focus, fostering joy and gratitude, contributing to spiritual maturity, and growing our dependence on God.
RESOLVE TO STAND FIRM
First, stand firm on truth (Ephesians 6:14a).
“It’s important to rehearse the lovely, rich truths and promises that remain when other things change. Keep telling these truths, in all their many-sided glory, and one day, walls already cracked will crumble and fall”[3].
Second, stand firm on praise (Psalm 147:1).
“No exercise or medicine will cure the ill of discouragement like praise. Depression and praise cannot long live in the same heart. They are absolutely incompatible roommates.
“Praise brings the consciousness of the presence of God and liars from the pit cannot effectively market their wares in the atmosphere of praise”[4].
Third, stand firm in expectancy (Psalm 5:3).
TAKE ONE STEP AT A TIME
We mustn’t allow our thoughts to run ahead into the swirling “what’-ifs” that spiral us downward. Instead, we focus on what needs to be done in this moment, remembering it just might be rest.
Know also that even in suffering “there is enough beauty to get through the minute and then to get through the hour and then to get through the day”[5].
Practice these strategies and find the H.E.A.R.T.—the courage—that Kind David urged:
H = Hope in God
E = Embrace grace
A = Act kindly toward others
R = Resolve to stand firm
T = Take one step at a time
“Trouble is our common lot. The big difference is the people who follow Jesus get to add this tiny little hand grenade of a footnote to our bumper sticker:
“But take heart! I have overcome the world”[6].
[1] Soul Bare, 94.
[2] Matt Chandler.
[3] Jim MGuiggan, quoted by Beth Moore in Praying God’s Word, 138.
[4] Jack Taylor, quoted by Linda Dillow in Satisfy the Thirsty Soul,191.
[5] Cara Sexton, contributor to Soul Bare, 198.
[6] J. D. Walt, quoted at https://wrestlingwordblog.wordpress, 11-7-2020.
Image credits: http://www.canva.com (2); http://www.dailyverses.net; http://www.canva.com (2); http://www.dailyverses.net.
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