As you read this you may be recovering from a tragedy or still grieving the loss of loved ones. Maybe you or a loved one has received a diagnosis recently that has you scared and anxious. There may be some of you who are battling with a stressful relationship that leaves you hurting and confused. Maybe you find yourself overwhelmed in worry and fear of what your future holds.

The bad news is that we will always have to go through tough times. It’s not matter of if; it is a matter of when. Hard times are not for the select few. They come to the rich and the poor, men and women, black or white. No one is exempt from life’s hardships. We all have troubled times, sometimes we can’t help but give in to the darkness of despair and hopelessness.

I want to encourage you today that God does not intend for us to stay there.  

Be assured that God has a reason for allowing us to go through hardships. He doesn’t cause them to happen but He does allow them. Jesus Himself was not exempted from suffering (especially on the Cross), He was not exempted from loneliness, and He was not exempted from temptation or discouragement or anything else that we ourselves have to face. He experienced loss (the death of John the Baptist, etc.) just like any one of us. He was misunderstood just as we are misunderstood (and most of the time by people we really love). He knows and understands our hurt and pain. We are not alone when we take His hand for Him to walk (even carry) us through the difficult times we are facing.

In your suffering you might think that you will never know joy again. . . but you will. As dark as it might seem in the moment, it won’t always be that way. You won’t always be living your life in that place. God says in Isaiah 43:2, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. And through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned. And the flame shall not consume you.” That’s the promise of God to His children, to YOU.

Wait on God and trust Him. The seasons of hardship and even your deepest pain will come to an end. And none of the suffering is in vain but ultimately for God’s glory as we seek Him and love Him with all our heart and mind.