What Does It Mean For You To Walk Through Hardships With God?

"The Lord is my Shepherd [to feed, to guide and to shield me], I shall not want. He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still and quiet waters. He refreshes and restores my soul (life); He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake."

- Psalm 23: 1-3 // AMP

Jesus is our good Shepherd.

Before we move forward, let's set the foundation from the very beginning.

God is not punishing you. He is a good God and He wants to see you whole. It matters to Him that you are broken, sad, weary, depressed, in despair, traumatized, feeling hopeless, or going through circumstances because of what someone did or said to you (tick whichever one applies to you - might be one...might be all). He loves you, and He is always near. He always was and He always will be.

Now that we have addressed the lies that often swim around our minds, hearts, and even conversation circles, let's dive deep.

You might be sitting in one of three categories:

1. You have been through, or are going through, a tough time and feel forgotten by God and people, or feel that God does not care about you; that He has overlooked you and is far away from your situation... somehow watching from a distance.

2. You have heard sermons that have unfortunately taught you that when you face hardships, it's because you are outside of God's will or have sinned or have gone astray (insert the doom and gloom 'gospel'). On another note...this one really pisses me off. What does that even mean?! You know what? Let's not go there. Let's keep moving (breathe, Pam).

3. You don't know (or have not yet fully grasped) that God loves you, so you're doing this the hard way - on your own.

Which one applies to you?

I've been in all three camps, and I'm telling you now, it's not fun. So, if you're ready to get out of these camps, I'd love for us to step out of the top three camps and step into the fourth camp together. In this camp:

• You learn that God loves you and is always near to the broken-hearted (Psalm 34.18).

• You learn how to walk with God in your hardships.

• You decide that you are going to believe what the bible says about God, and decide to stop listening to the lies of the devil. These lies come in the form of feeling that God does not love you and that He is far. These lies also come in the form of thinking, 'it's too late for me,' 'I'm alone,' 'nobody cares'...etc.

God [the Father] gave us Jesus [His Son} as our mediator. We do not have a mediator who is far from our suffering - He knows suffering intimately and personally, and so can walk with us in the degree of intimacy that we allow Him to. When you choose to accept that Jesus is God, that He died for you on the cross to pay for your sins, and decide to live your life according to His bright and illuminating path of righteousness, you enter into a relationship with the Creator of all with Jesus as the tether - the touch point. When you give your heart to Jesus, you become plugged in to the Only One that can see, love and receive you, and ultimately, make you whole.

The first thing we need to realise is that God is not a distant God. He is close to us always. He is in everything because:

1. He is spirit so although we can not see Him, He is always there. (John 4.24)

2. He made everything, so a part of Him is in everything. (Genesis 1)

   
   

The next thing we need to realise is that He is a loving God, and sees us as He made us, not as we see ourselves. He has written your story to play out in victory, no matter what life's circumstances look like. There are evil forces that have come along and have written their own bootleg copy of the story of your life by bringing in plot twists that were never intended to make it into your life's manuscript. But as the Good Shepherd, God guides us back to the right path so we can walk on the beautiful path He has created. It takes a decision to let Him guide you back to the right path, and to trust and follow Him when He does.

He has walked through it, so you can follow Him as He leads you out if it.

"For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize and understand our weaknesses and temptations, but One who has been tempted [knowing exactly how it feels to be human] in every respect as we are, yet without [committing any] sin." - Hebrews 4.15 //AMP

Let's talk about what it means to walk through hardships with God.

1. It means admitting that you can't do it.

Pride tells us we can do all things. The Bible tells us we can do all things through Jesus who strengthens us (Philippians 4.13). Jesus is the only way to salvation and eternal life. He is also the only way to truly achieve all that the Lord has set us to do or be because when you allow Jesus to lead you, you plug directly into your Creator, and He gives you His Holy Spirit to dwell inside of you. Imagine that... God's spirit inside your body?! I'm definitely sitting in Heaven's 'Science 101' class when that time comes. You have to start this journey by realising that can't do it. When the voices (thoughts and feelings) of 'I'm not enough/I can't do it' come your way, you can confidently say, "You're right. I'm not enough. I can't do it. Jesus already did it for me, so I can do ALL things through Him, and He is more than in enough (in my place)." Feel free to add my little spicy favourite saying at the end..."Now, SHOO!".

2. DO NOT FOLLOW YOUR HEART!

If I had a dollar for every Instagram post that says, "Follow your heart...", I'd be swimming in limitless luxury, complete with a private helicopter with a private helipad on the Eiffel Tower. Hey, a girl can dream. Listen carefully to what the Bible says about this - THE HEART IS DECEPTIVE (Jeremiah 19.9). The Amplified version says, "The heart is deceitful above all things and it is extremely sick; who can understand it and fully know its secret motives?" A deceived heart caused Adam to break covenant with God over a lie. It caused the Sons and Daughters of Sodom to follow their pleasures to destruction. It caused Cain to kill His brother, Abel, even after he had personally heard the voice of the Lord speak to Him warning Him beforehand. A deceived heart will lead you to a never ending wilderness and far from the still waters Jesus has for you. The only one who truly knows the heart is God knows the heart. You must decide to admit that you can't do it in your own strength, and that you need Him (Jesus, Yahweh, Holy Spirit) to help you and lead you no the right path.

3. Don't trust the process. Trust God's process.

"Trust the process," is a meaningless quote when you exclude the One behind the process. You can trust the process all you want, and try to manipulate circumstances by 'manifesting', but a process without the Process Creator is like running a juicer or blender without adding any ingredients to make the juice or smoothie. All it does it create noise, ruins the engine, and it's downright useless (not to mention, annoying). You can't take shortcuts. Shortcuts come from the devil; they are his counterfeit to God's exceleration (which often comes after His process). The process, although difficult, will mould a tougher exterior and a rock solid inner character that is:

• one with God's will

• able to carry the breakthrough God will give you without breaking you

• looks like Jesus through and through

So, don't trust the process. Trust God, His process and His will (not your heart).

4. You need to rely on Holy Spirit, or you will crumble.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. He dwells with your spirit inside your body when you give your heart to Jesus and follow Him (His teachings, instructions, example and obedience to God's Word). The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of 'wisdom and understanding','counsel and strength', 'knowledge and of the [reverential and obedient] fear of the Lord' (Isaiah 11.2). You need all the above in order to walk through any kind of hardships (and just life, really). He is the only person who sees you, and He does nothing but what the Father wills. You can trust Him. I respect and honour the roles that psychologists and counsellors have in helping us in our difficult moments. What an amazing heart they carry to walk with the broken! As someone who has walked with a psychologist before, and with the Holy Spirit through hardships and life, I can tell you this one thing: a life surrendered to the Holy Spirit will do exceedingly more for you than what a lifetime of counselling alone will ever do. I strongly encourage that if you're ever in a position to seek counselling, please consider inviting the Holy Spirit to be there. When you do see a counsellor or psychologist, inviting the Holy Spirit will help you as He comforts you on a deep level, and teaches you to articulate and bring to the surface what lies buried within layers of hurt. That's just an example - the Holy Spirit's work in these times is something one can never truly describe :). Trust me; I know. Trust Holy Spirit; He understands (more than you know). The Holy Spirit is your best friend and teacher through it all, but you must trust His process (He's God, too, you know).

Disclaimer: [Please note that this is not medical advice, nor is it advice for you to conduct practices that you are not comfortable with. It is a personal testimony and a suggestion that comes from having been through this journey. As a Christ-follower, please always take anything you see on this website (and any source you find) to God in prayer. It can also be wise to seek the advice of trusted mature leaders in faith for advice in life's circumstances when faced in hardship when you are unfamiliar with how to get connected with Christian counselling services, and when you want to learn about the Holy Spirit.]

5. Learn from the pain.

Some pain is good. Some pain is bad. One of Holy Spirit's roles is to help us discern (Spirit of Wisdom); He can teach us which pain to pray against, and which pain to lean into. What's the difference? You pray against that which exalts itself above what Jesus says in His Word, and you lean into that which moulds your character so you look like Jesus. You can pray against demonic influence causing delays in your life, but you can't pray away a season where God wants you to wait for His timing (which develops faith, peace, perseverance, and patience). You can pray against unusual opposition that's causing trouble in your life, but you can't pray against opposition that's meant to teach you how to love people, become stronger/bolder and be resilient. You can pray against that which seeks to bring you away from God, but you cannot pray against situations meant to bring you closer to God by developing the Fruit of the Spirit within you (Galatians 5.22-23). Do you see the difference? You need to be able to discern what is happening by asking God for His wisdom. You can only do that with Holy Spirit's help, when you trust God and His process, when you follow God's will and NOT your heart, and when you finally come to a point where you admit that you cannot do it alone.

God gave us each other so we could walk with one another. If you're going through hardships and need a community, please join us. Currently, we have a fortnightly Women's Bible Study where we meet and learn from God's Word. It's a safe space for you. Please join us HERE . We're currently reading about the fear (reverential awe, respect and obedience) of the Lord - the beginning of all wisdom. I firmly believe that it's His wisdom that helps us govern all things in life, and that His wisdom will teach you how to walk with Him in all hardships. I can't wait to see to see you there!

LWAP is a community, so let's do this together. Comment your thoughts below.

God bless, and Jesus loves you.

Pam.

Jeremiah 29.11