5 Days to Believe You’re Going to Make It Ihe Atụ

How Can We Find New Strength in Hard Seasons?

In a recent season of my life, I felt like the heartbreak I was experiencing was going to break me.

The pain hit me with such sudden and sharp force that it felt like it cut through skin and bone. And it left me wondering if I’d ever be able to function like a normal person again.

Through that time and even now, God has been reminding me that pain itself is not the enemy. Pain is the indicator that brokenness exists.

Pain is the reminder that the real Enemy is trying to take us out and bring us down by keeping us stuck in broken places. If we can grasp God’s perspective, pain can be the gift that motivates us to fight with brave tenacity and fierce determination, knowing there’s healing on the other side.

And in the in-between? In that desperate place where we aren’t quite on the other side of it all yet, and our hearts still feel quite raw? Even still, pain is an invitation for God to move in and replace our faltering strength with His. Now, I’m not writing this to throw out spiritual platitudes that sound good; I write it from the depth of a heart that knows it’s the only way.

We must invite God into our pain to help us survive the desperate in-between.

The only other choice is to run from the pain by using some method of numbing. But numbing the pain—with food, achievements, drugs, alcohol, or endlessly scrolling on social media—never goes to the source of the real issue to make us healthier. It only silences our screaming need for help.

We think we’re freeing ourselves from the pain when, in reality, what numbs us imprisons us. If we avoid the hurt, the hurt creates a void in us. It slowly kills the potential for our hearts to fully feel, fully connect, and fully love again. It even steals the best in our relationship with God.

Pain is the sensation that indicates a transformation is needed. There’s a weakness where new strength needs to enter. And we must choose to pursue long-term strength rather than temporary relief.

So how do we get this new strength? How do we stop ourselves from chasing what will numb us when the deepest parts of us scream for some relief? How do we stop the piercing pain of this minute, this hour? We invite God’s closeness.

For me, this means praying. And praying constantly. No matter how deep our pit, prayer is big enough to fill us with the realization of His presence like nothing else. Just like our key verse reminds us, when we draw near to God, He will draw near to us (James 4:8 ESV).

No matter where you are today… knee-deep in heartbreak, taking steps of healing, or in the desperate in-between, today is a great day to invite God closer. When we invite Him close, He always accepts our invitation.

RESPOND:

How might you invite God into the closeness of something difficult you’re facing right now? As you do, ask God for renewed strength in what you’re processing today.