Suffering isn’t an obstacle to being used by God. It is an opportunity to be used like never before.
-Levi Lusko
You know it – some of you know it like the back of your hand. You’ve felt it – maybe for a moment, maybe for a lifetime. You’ve run from it. Some days you’ve escaped it. Other days you’ve drowned in it. The past couple months have been ‘that day’ for me. And I could write this whole darn blog and fifteen more about the grief and the crippling anxiety and the physical pain and the hard, hard goodbyes.
But I’m not going to write this whole blog about that sad little story. Because it’s not one.
It would be – if Jesus was sitting on the sidelines watching.
But the truth is, He’s just not. He is not a far off God. He is here, moving in close. He is not confused or taken aback by anything that comes my way. Infact – though suffering does not come from Him, it still answers to Him. It must ask His approval before even moving towards near us. It must slip through His fingers before it crosses into our line of view.
I do not walk through the fire without His commanding every flame.
I do not walk through any desert before He first walks there, and prepares every grain of painful sand for my prideful feet.
I do not walk through any flood before he holds every drop of rain and breathes its purpose: not to harm, but to cleanse.
There is no way for me to know what you’re walking through right now. Maybe you have a momma or daddy who left too soon. Maybe you’re physically hurting, and aching for healing. Maybe you’re watching someone you love fade. Maybe you’re hurting in a way that other people can’t see- and depression is telling you to stay in bed. Maybe anxiety & fear grip your heart deeply. Maybe you’re drowning in the belief that you’re not good enough. That you’re not strong enough. That you’re not worth it.
And maybe you’re great. In that case, start training for the trial you’re not yet in (another Levi Lusko wisdom bomb). Preach the Word to yourself every morning, knowing one day it will not be an add on to your comfortable life, but an oxygen supply. Get your shelter built before the storm comes – don’t wait until you’re already in it.
I have no idea the flood and flames that are surrounding you. But I do know that whether or not you are consumed by them is determined by what & Who your eyes are locked on.
Because if you focus well enough, you’ll see that Jesus is nearer than He has ever been. With everything else stripped away, there is room for Him to move in closer.
It took a lot of hurting for me to see that. To believe that. And to be able to say that the nearness of Jesus is worth the loss of everything else.
Realizing that, again, after the 100 times He has already showed me, is the greatest joy and freedom I’ve ever known.
That the nearness of Jesus is worth the loss of everything else.
I couldn’t always say that. But now, I believe it with everything in me.
Do you?
Grace In Between 