I recently went through an incredibly difficult time in my life. Anyone that I tell the story to is kind of amazed about how painful it must have been... What might be more surprising is that when the storm kind of died down, I was actually glad that it happened. Here are the main reasons that I'm glad.
I was already questioning and searching for promises from Scripture that I could really grab on to, and have a deeper confidence in than ever before. Trials make us dig deeper to find resources that we don't focus on very much otherwise, and this was where I knew I needed to dig.
When I was at nearly my darkest days, God gave me 3 promises that I could really cling to in the storm. Then, a bit later, He gave me a 4th. Here are the 4 promises that are now tremendously meaningful to me:
My 4 favorite promises for times of suffering
1. God loves me and cares about me“For God so loved the world…” John 3:16
“For I am convinced...” Romans 8:38-39
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7
2. God will never leave meAnd be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.”
John 14:16 NLT
3. In this world, I will have trouble, but true peace comes from Him“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
4. Jesus understands, even when no one else understands“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
Now that we are in this historic period of the Coronavirus, with everything shutting down, and all the medical, economic, emotional, familial, and faith applications of that, here are some elaborations on what each of these promises mean during this time, at least to me.
1. God loves me and cares about me
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither social distancing, neither the Coronavirus, nor COVID-19, nor fear, nor isolation, nor sickness, nor the media, nor politics, nor uncertainty, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
2. God will never leave me
To be wise and safe, we are all needing to "leave" each other, at least physically. God has promised that His Holy Spirit to be with us no matter what we are walking through.
3. In this world, I will have trouble, but true peace comes from Him
There is definitely plenty of trouble going on today, on many levels. Trouble is normal, even if this particular kind of trouble, and at this scale, is not normal.
Most of our fear comes from the fear of death. Jesus has conquered death itself!
4. Jesus understands, even when no one else understands
You might be struggling with anxiety or fear. You might have some of the medical symptoms that we are hearing so much about in the news. You might be separated from loved ones by the quarantine requirements. It might feel like no one understands how hard this is.
Jesus understands what it feels like to be alone. He knows what it is like to be tempted to be fearful. He knows what it is like to have physical affliction. He demonstrated compassion for many, many sick people when he walked this earth.
He understands.
I hope this brings a degree of peace and comfort to this very stressful time.
I was already questioning and searching for promises from Scripture that I could really grab on to, and have a deeper confidence in than ever before. Trials make us dig deeper to find resources that we don't focus on very much otherwise, and this was where I knew I needed to dig.
When I was at nearly my darkest days, God gave me 3 promises that I could really cling to in the storm. Then, a bit later, He gave me a 4th. Here are the 4 promises that are now tremendously meaningful to me:
My 4 favorite promises for times of suffering
1. God loves me and cares about me“For God so loved the world…” John 3:16
“For I am convinced...” Romans 8:38-39
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7
2. God will never leave meAnd be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.”
John 14:16 NLT
3. In this world, I will have trouble, but true peace comes from Him“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
4. Jesus understands, even when no one else understands“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
Now that we are in this historic period of the Coronavirus, with everything shutting down, and all the medical, economic, emotional, familial, and faith applications of that, here are some elaborations on what each of these promises mean during this time, at least to me.
1. God loves me and cares about me
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither social distancing, neither the Coronavirus, nor COVID-19, nor fear, nor isolation, nor sickness, nor the media, nor politics, nor uncertainty, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
2. God will never leave me
To be wise and safe, we are all needing to "leave" each other, at least physically. God has promised that His Holy Spirit to be with us no matter what we are walking through.
3. In this world, I will have trouble, but true peace comes from Him
There is definitely plenty of trouble going on today, on many levels. Trouble is normal, even if this particular kind of trouble, and at this scale, is not normal.
Most of our fear comes from the fear of death. Jesus has conquered death itself!
4. Jesus understands, even when no one else understands
You might be struggling with anxiety or fear. You might have some of the medical symptoms that we are hearing so much about in the news. You might be separated from loved ones by the quarantine requirements. It might feel like no one understands how hard this is.
Jesus understands what it feels like to be alone. He knows what it is like to be tempted to be fearful. He knows what it is like to have physical affliction. He demonstrated compassion for many, many sick people when he walked this earth.
He understands.
I hope this brings a degree of peace and comfort to this very stressful time.
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