When The Going Gets Tough
Life gives us the opportunity to experience every emotion, circumstance, and situation in our environment with ease, but also through distress. At any given moment, someone has just come out of a traumatic occurrence, while someone else is going into one.
Our lives are engulfed with mountaintop highs and valley lows, regardless of our geographic location, economic status, or cultural/ethnic position. Yes, bad things happen to good people.
It’s not hard to give thanks, act well, or do good things when we’re on top. It’s during the tough, low times when it gets hard to hold ourselves together. No one can escape the swing of the pendulum. However, the “way” that we go through life’s challenges can be dramatically altered by our “faith.”
The greatest difference that we can make in our life’s journey is how we use faith in every context. Faith is both a noun (a thing that we have in our hearts) and a verb (an action that we make toward living the Word). When the going gets tough, the force of our faith is what will change the atmosphere.
Tools for Tough Times
• Hope is the beginning of faith, the place where possibility thinking is formulated. Wikipedia says that “Hope is an optimistic attitude of mind based on an expectation of positive outcomes related to events and circumstances in one’s life or the world at large.” As a verb, its definitions include to “expect with confidence” and “cherish a desire with anticipation.”
• Faith means placing your hope and complete confidence in God. It’s knowing that He, the Creator of the universe, is a supernatural being. What He spoke became evident. The questions are, do you believe what God says about your situation? And will you diligently seek Him for help?
• Faith continually grows. What happened before is a testimony; today, faith is. And it will change your today. During tough times, faith can help you to endure your circumstances, or it can enable you to exit them.
• The power of prayer is the vehicle to move faith. God has done an amazing thing—choosing sinful man, forgiving him, and creating a covenant with him. Using this relationship is the foundation/rock that prayer relates to, and is an awesome force to contend with. When prayer comes from a heart of gratitude and surrender, and is covered with expectation that it will manifest, it will be answered.
Nothing is too hard for God! Big or small, He is well able to do it. But don’t try to put your timeline on His response!
Prayer always has a connection between something you already possess and the thing that you desire. In really dire circumstances, it may be necessary to combine one or two other powerful tools with your prayer: sowing a seed (giving of time, money, or goods for the benefit of ministry/others), or fasting (doing without by sacrificing food). These activities will put prayer on a higher level. Ultimately, we need to get into the presence of God, as He is our total source, supplying our every need.
It took all the expressions of God to bring forth man: created by the Father, redeemed by the Son, and regenerated by the Holy Spirit. Hope, faith, and prayer do not ignite the Spirit of God without forgiveness. Our whole Christian experience begins with the Father forgiving us. If you cannot forgive those who hurt or harm you in this seen world, how can you expect to be shown God’s forgiveness, which is binding and unseen?
Forgiveness is really not for the other person; it is for the forgiver. It frees your spirit, since anger/hate and peace cannot occupy the same space. Forgiving also allows God to deal with that person’s wrongdoing. His correction, or vengeance, will be far greater than anything you could think of.
When tough times appear, use your tools and break its hold! Give your faith walking power. It is what makes the difference between your today and tomorrow.
You’ve got what it takes—use it!
