Unshakable: Living Faithfully Through the Tough Seasons of LifeSample

Unshakable // Moving Forward In Faith

When we’re in the middle of hard times, it’s very easy to feel like we’re on our own and that no one else would understand what we’re going through. A sense of detachment and isolation can creep up on us and weaken our faith. We can find ourselves standing still or even stepping back from the life God has called us to. We start to question whether God is good, whether He’s working in our lives, and whether what we’re going through is meaningful and worth it. If we’re not careful, we can even start avoiding other believers because sometimes it’s hard to be honest about the things we’re struggling with.

Paul understood how difficult it was to walk through a season of suffering. Right before he went to Thessalonica, he’d had one of the toughest experiences of his life in the city of Philippi (you can check it out in Acts 16). He’d been arrested and ‘severely flogged’ before being put in stocks and locked up in a Roman prison. God intervened miraculously, but the local authorities still asked him to leave town. So when Paul arrived in Thessalonica, he was physically and emotionally battered, weary of doing good. We can sometimes think that Paul was immune to the struggles and doubts we experience, but he describes his ministry in Thessalonica as only possible because God helped him. His words quite literally are that he ‘found courage in God.’ He was able to keep moving forward in his ministry by leaning into God and embracing his calling and mission again.

That’s how the Thessalonians came to hear about Jesus. And just in case they’ve forgotten, Paul reminds them why the message of Jesus was so attractive. There were no strings attached. Paul and his ministry team didn’t get any kind of kickback or ego boost. They paid their own way, they were approachable and down-to-earth. They embraced all kinds of hardship so that they could pour their lives into the Thessalonians. Because that’s who God is - available, selfless, and generous. Of course, that’s also the nature of God’s Kingdom - letting go of the ‘wealth’ of this world to embrace the treasures of faith.

Jesus didn’t promise that following him would be easy or comfortable. But he did promise that it would be worth it. We can take courage in the reminder that every follower of Jesus walks through seasons of heartache and disappointment; every Christian experiences suffering and grief at some point in time; like Jesus, we may face rejection and even persecution. In those times, an unshakable life doesn’t stand; still, it keeps moving forward. Because God is still with us - even when He feels distant. His purposes are still good - even when we can’t see them.

C.S. Lewis wrote, "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains.” He said that tough seasons are an invitation to experience God more intimately. It’s all about protecting the posture of our hearts. We don’t harden our hearts or stop talking to Him. Sometimes we need to simply worship, like Paul in the prison of Philippi. Sometimes we need to get up and keep doing the thing God has called us to. Sometimes we just get on with the responsibilities of life. We do it by faith, trusting that God’s grace will sustain us, His power is at work in us, and His plans for us are good - whatever the circumstance. God is our unshakable foundation. Mature faith keeps moving forward with Him, one step at a time, whatever we’re going through.

1. Is there any part of my life in which I’ve stopped moving forward?
2. How honest am I when I talk to God? How much do I talk about the things I struggle with?