Grow Through What You Go ThroughSample

KEEP GOING!

We all go through storms in our lives (trust me, it’s not just you!) But it’s what we do through the storms that determine how we go forward. We can throw down our faith, complain and remain, or we can press into God’s strength and grow from every hard experience.

Psalm 23:4 says “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me…” That verse tells us that there is a valley of shadow. I wish there wasn’t. I wish I could wrap you in bubble wrap and put you in a closet to keep you safe from any kind of hurt, but what kind of life is that? It’s boring and useless -- and not really possible.

So, sometimes, life hurts. But the key word in that verse in Psalm 23 is through. Don’t make a camp in the valley of shadow, keep going! Go through the valley until you come out the other side. I heard a well-known Christian counselor say, “Crisis equals opportunity.” Every time a crisis happens, we have the opportunity to press into God’s Word, increase our faith, and see Him move on our behalf, coming out even better on the other side, with stronger faith.

Let’s face it, we humans can press into God anytime, but we tend to do it more when we’re in trouble and need His help, right? I remember when my first husband died at 37, and I had to take over pastoring our church and raising our teenage sons by myself. I pressed into God like never before, reading His Word for hours each day. I was desperate!

And I found Him in a whole new way. I call it the worst time of my life, yet the best time because I found out our Father is a very present help in times of trouble. I fell more in love with Him than ever before, and I feel like I grew into an even better version of myself, with stronger faith in God. My sons and I went through the hardest of times and found that God is faithful – so nothing scares us now!

When trouble comes, keep going through the valley by holding fast to God, expecting to grow and emerge with the win.