“He loves who we are, but He will never pass up on the chance to use life events to make us better.”
– Hannah Brencher, Come Matter Here
Adversity presents an opportunity to experience God’s realness. Every trial, a chance for transformation. An invitation to press close to Father and soak up more of His likeness as we learn to linger long in His presence.
No matter the season.
Be it grief from mourning a loved one’s death or a physical challenge facing us with a host of unknowns.
Whether the crushing weight of depression has become your constant companion and you wake each day despondent. Or you rise each day with an air of expectancy.
Whether we are watching what once was our “Jesus loves me, this I know,” child become a “Is God even real?” questioning prodigal.
Or maybe, the questioning prodigal is you.
No matter where you are or what your circumstances may be, today is a chance for change.
But first, we have to get real.
Real with ourselves. And with God.
And that can be tough.
It’s hard to admit when life is getting the best of you.
It’s hard to face the fears within, especially when they are causing you to question your faith.
But here in the hard is where you are.
Thankfully, it is also where you can be found.
Because God is here.
Smack dab in the middle of your chaos.
And He loves the real you.
Even when the real you is a mess.
He can handle your questions. He doesn’t wince at your raw emotions. He’s not surprised by your weaknesses or your temptation to give up and call it quits.
He sees you here.
All that you are.
And all you long to be.
And all you can become when surrendered to Him.
God can deal with you and the baggage you bring to this relationship. Even when you can’t. But He does ask that you start to unpack it with Him.
To pull out the threadbare wardrobe that no longer fits your Godward frame. To turn loose the doubt frayed by those many years of tugging. To remove the stretched seams of insecurity and release the grasping for affirmation that squeezes too tightly in all the wrong places.
To discard the too much and not enough and allow Father to cloak you in the fit that is just right because He has perfectly tailored it for you.
In the midst of your overwhelm, He is calling you to something new, inviting you to bring every bit of brokenness. And to trust that you are safe with Him.
Hear me clearly, beloved: You are safe with Jesus.
Even if you are still struggling to believe it.
2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us:
If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away. Behold, new things have come.
The new and beautiful grows where the breaking begins.
It comes with a spiritual awakening, a different way of thinking and believing. And a new way of responding to old lies with the truth of who you are in Christ Jesus. Because knowing your place as God’s beloved is key to living a transformed life.
While the newness is not dependent upon you and your flagging strength, the yielding is. Surrender to Father is imperative because the circumstances surrounding you may not miraculously change.
Your present trial will not likely alter its course overnight.
You may not get a good report from the doctor.
You may still be unemployed next week.
Your marriage may still be a struggle.
Your son or daughter may not respond to your phone calls or dinner invitations.
Depression may still come knocking at your door in the morning.
Anxiety may still wake you in the middle of the night.
But God is here.
And He is real.
And He will show Himself to you.
Some days His appearance will be blatantly obvious. Other times, He may cloak Himself in mystery as you strain to catch even a glimpse of His presence.
But always, He is near.
So trace the echoes of His truth, beloved.
Recall the faithfulness of His presence in times past. And trust that it will be there yet again today.
Wherever today may find you.
Here in the realness of you, He comes yet again to make all things new.