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Hard times

Wanda Smith writes about getting through a difficult situation
OnTheFrontPorch_WandaSmith
On the Front Porch by Wanda Smith

No matter how dark it is, there is always the promise of the dawn. We may overlook the promise of the dawn, but it is still there. No matter how low we may feel we can always look up.

Today, I want to speak hope and encouragement into your hearts, dear friend. In a day that seems to have trouble on every side, let me encourage you to not lose heart. I have walked through a few devastating situations in my life. One of them was when Hubby and I separated 14 years ago. My world was rocked. His world was rocked. Yet we did not have the tools we needed to make our marriage work at that point. 

There is a danger to look to ourselves or others to solve the problems around us and although we’ve been given tools to do so, we must also remind ourselves that God has the plan for our good! We definitely have a part to play in bringing good to our lives, but ultimately, we must look to Jesus for the answer. He always has an answer for our difficult situations. The challenge is to not have our own expectations of how He will work things out and to trust Him in the process.  

The first night of our separation, I was numb. I was empty. I was concerned. I had no answers. My future was so uncertain. Our future was so uncertain. As I surrendered the situation to the Lord, I began to see Him unfold a plan.

It was in small baby steps; there were no thunder or lightning bolts with answers from heaven. There were small incidences and the still small voice of God leading us each individually forward.  

As I mentioned, we do have a part to play. I determined to not give in to fear. I determined that God was my strength, my guide, my comforter and my redeemer. I determined that I would trust Him even when things were spiralling out of control. Baby step by baby step I moved forward each day.

One evening, I was listening to Mike Murdock, a man who teaches about wisdom. He made a statement I grabbed a hold of and have never let go, even in the hardest of times: “it’s never as bad as it first appears.” I adopted this wisdom for my life. It held me together. It still holds me together. And it holds us together. Hubby and I reconciled and have been on a path towards God and each other. It is a process of healing and hope.

God is for you. He is for me. He is a good God. He desires good for you. There are over 7,000 promises in the Word of God available for each of us! Do you know what they are? The tendency is to blame God when things do not go well in our lives. He gets a bad rap for stuff He has never had a part of. We (Adam & Eve first sinned) “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Adam and Eve gave the earth over to the serpent (Satan) and he became the god (little ‘g’ god) of this world. If bad happens, it is because we live in a fallen world.  Stop blaming God for the bad that has been going on in your life and in your world.

Turn to Him and trust Him.  The good news is that He has given us the keys to a future and a hope. More on this next week...

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.  

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