Everyone in this world has to experience something outside of their control that can leave us feeling in shock, pain, grief, or simply a panic. It could be the loss of a loved one, extended singleness, loss of a job or an unexpected tragedy. Satan often takes advantage of these situations to leave us feeling hopeless. God does not want us to become hopeless in those circumstances.
Often, God will allow such circumstances for his greater purpose. One of the greatest purposes in allowing painful situations is to reveal himself to us in a unique way. This builds our faith as well as the faith of those that are around us. In the below video, I discuss the pain, infirmity, or weakness that we can feel in the in between time. The in between time is when we are waiting for God to respond to a crisis or experience that we are facing.
I use the story of Lazarus, Mary and Martha, to show how Jesus waited until the situation appeared hopeless before he responded because he had a greater purpose that he wanted to reveal. What if God is allowing a situation in your life to reveal a greater purpose to you, his followers, and general on lookers. What if you knew that the end of the trial would work in your favor just in a more massive way or greater scale? Knowing God’s plan and purpose in a hardship allows the endurance to continue to trust God all the way up until the end. This is why we need to seek the Lord to see what his word is for our situation.
It is also comforting to know that there is grace reserved for us that seek God for it to help us in our time of need. Like Christ empathized with Mary, he also empathizes with us understanding as a good father that it isn’t easy for us to go through it, but it can be done when we lean on him.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:15-16 (NIV)
It’s okay to acknowledge that circumstances get hard; just don’t allow the circumstances to make you hard or become stuck in a spiral of self destructive behavior such as leaning on vices for relief instead of Christ. Instead seek the Lord for his grace, and wait with assurance for the breakthrough that God has in mind. It will be better than anything that you can imagine.
Finally, trusting God through it all will lead us to rest. Jesus shared with Mary after raising her brother from the dead saying, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” To believe is to rest according to Hebrews. We enter into God’s rest through believing (Hebrews 4:3).
We enter into God’s rest through believing in God’s word. What was God’s word to Mary, Martha, and his disciples? It was that this sickness isn’t unto death, but for the glory or revealing of God. If you believe you will see this glory revealed (John11:40.) Indeed, Mary, Martha, Lazarus, the town’s people and the disciples all saw the glory of God. While there was much pain, sorrow, and grief in between waiting; they were not disappointed, and if we can rest in believing the word of God given to us, we will not be disappointed either.
Anytime, we are facing a crisis, a moment unexpected, outside of our control, that causes us to wait on God; Within the in between time when we are tempted to doubt, panic, and become negative, we need to remind ourselves to get a word from the Lord. This requires intentional seeking of the Lord more than the usual. It may also include fasting and praying to quiet our spirits to hear God. That word from God will bring grace, strength, produce faith, that will cause God’s rest until the greater purpose of God becomes manifest in our situation.
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