This saying was born from my way of life: I wish I could live as close to the Lord in the good times as I do in the hard times, because then the hard times would not be necessary.

This certainly does not apply to everybody, but I know in hard times I’m much closer to the Lord. The good times pull you away from the Lord and it’s not long before you start struggling to walk through life the right way. And real joy and real peace disappear too.

I understand this verse, because it is my experience: ³… You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors.

Mostly you don’t have control over the hard and the bad stuff, but if we handle it in the right way and tackle it with the right attitude, it can and will have a positive impact on our lives.

How do you deal with the hard seasons in your life? Do you rebel? Do you simply drift along or do you look where you can benefit? Yes, it’s not easy and certainly not enjoyable, but we should know that God wouldn’t let anything happen to us that we can’t handle.

When times are hard, we have to trust God and know that He will make everything work out for good. One of the spin offs of hardship is that we cling to God like a magnet and our ears are open to hear His voice.

But even more than that – we learn to keep going and to persevere. Our faith muscles grow stronger and this gives us more strength to hold onto God. Then the waves of life can break over us. They will not pull us from God’s hands.

Sometimes, life can shake us up. When the attacks and challenges seem never-ending, we feel at times that we can’t go on. It feels as if our strength is spent. But fortunately, because we allowed the previous challenges to make us stronger, we can hold on and keep going.

Many people out there in the world are simply too shaken to get up. Let’s be honest, not everybody has it easy. Many people’s faith is hanging by a thin thread because they simply cannot see and experience God anymore. They are close to giving up.

Then we have to intervene. That’s why we are here. That’s why we ourselves suffered at one stage. It is indeed one of the reasons why our arms of faith grew stronger and our muscles are better developed. So that we can hold up those whose faith has grown weak.

We can encourage them and tell them to persevere. We can show them what the next step is. We can give them hope. We can motivate them and tell them how we made it.

Hard times not only draw us closer to God, but help us keep going and persevering so that we can help others keep going the right way. Believe it. Remember this when suffering comes knocking at your door the next time. In this way, hardship brings us to where it becomes easy.

Scripture
James 1:1-8

Reflection
What do you do with your suffering?
Can you take a step back and know that it helps you to persevere?
Who do you have to help get through their suffering?

Prayer
Father, I know You make me stronger through suffering. I know it helps me to keep going and to persevere. But I struggle with this sometimes. Please give me the strength to push through and to also help others along the way. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.