Our Struggles are Real

I sit at my computer, watching as a profile picture pops on the screen with three little dots.  They're typing.

Another face appears.  In this group chat titled "Prayer," we share what's going on.  How we're struggling.  How we need Jesus.  And then we do the fun part - share how He answers them.

The messages come in.

We're honest with each other.  One girl struggles with depression, her family has tension, and she feels like life has no meaning.  Another girl admits that her emotions have been in turmoil, and she's struggling with balancing life.  There are so many struggles, so much to pray for.

But then another comes in.  It's like someone timidly raises her hand as she types the words I've heard so often.  "This doesn't really seem important, but..."

I stop there.  Because I've said the exact same thing.  I have a prayer request that's "not really important," the praise report that seems so small.

But it isn't.  Because He still cares.

Sometimes we live like life is made up of lists.  We're not as good Christians as the girl over there, or our testimonies aren't as impressive as the person sitting beside us.  Our prayers seem small, our praises even smaller.

So we don't speak up.  When the battles come, they're only tiny showers compared to the huge thunderstorms that other people seem to be facing.

And when we forget the tiny blessings, forget the warriors who can join our side in the war, our battles become that much harder.

The truth is, He gives us exactly what we need to face at exactly the right moment.

For the black cummin is not threshed with a threshing sledge,

Nor is a cartwheel rolled over the cummin;

But the black cummin is beaten out with a stick,

And the cummin with a rod.

- Isaiah 28:27

Okay.  That verse might seem random, but it isn't.

God will give you more than you can handle - because He can handle it.  And, in the moment, He will offer His grace.  Every trial you face is for a purpose, for you specifically.

If you're cummin, God won't thresh you with the wrong tool.  He knows exactly what you need.  In the midst of the battle, He will be with you, sustain you, hear your prayers.

Your trial might not be with a threshing sledge; that's okay, because you're meant to face a stick instead.  Every trial is a time of refinement, like gold in a furnace.  The struggles are real, but they'll be alright.

These verses came up along with a quote in a book I'm savoring, Hinds Feet on High Places,

"See," said the Shepherd gently, "how various are the methods used for grinding the different varieties of grain, according to their special use and purpose."

- Hinds Feet on High Places

And then it continues to the next verse in Isaiah.

Bread flour must be ground;

Therefore he does not thresh it forever,

Break it with his cartwheel,

Or crush it with his horsemen.

- Isaiah 28:28

Flour has to be ground.  When I was eight, I took up the job of baking our family's bread with whole wheat.  I savored crunching the grains in my teeth, yet, before cooking, I slowly poured them through a grinder into beautiful, white powder.  The grit turned into dust.

Our trials might seem easier than another's.  We might not have a terminal disease, be in a car wreck, face depression or loss.

If you're being ground to flour, it's okay.  If your struggles feel smaller than the person who is broken with a cartwheel, crushed by horsemen, know that God is still with you.  The size of the struggle is unimportant; your heart is vital.

The enemy tells you that you're alone.  That no one understands.

They're lies.

Every trial you face is something that another person is or has faced.  And in every single lie, struggle, fear, He is able.

...there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

- Hebrews 7:19

And,

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast...

- Hebrews 6:19

Every trial, every decision, every moment has a purpose.

He gives grace.

Dear friend, be vulnerable with Him.  With other believers in Christ.  Pray for those "unimportant" things in your life and in others'.  The big ones and the small ones.  Because God sees the heart.

When my friend posted her small prayer request, I was overwhelmed.  Because all the other girls in the group gave virtual hugs.  They all had gone through the same thing.  And they all knew how incredibly hard little struggles can be.

Your trials, friend, are hard too.  I can't imagine because I'm stuck facing my own.  But Jesus is able.  He is good.

You have a purpose.  Ignore those emotions and lies that are screaming, and seek Him.

You're never alone.  ♥

(ps)  How can I be praying for you?  What is the Lord teaching you?  Comment below or send me a PM through the Connect page, and I'd be thrilled to chat!

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

- Hebrews 4:15-16

This also comes from the Lord of hosts,

Who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance.

- Isaiah 28:29

~♥~