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When Life is Hard and Trusting God Even Harder

I hope you have been enjoying the Summer Sizzle Blog Hop as much as I have! Did you know that all the posts from all 9 blogs can be found on Pinterest? We’ve created a Pinterest Board where there will be, in total, 72 Best Posts on everything in Christian Living! Find that link HERE!

9 Christian Bloggers Share Their Best Posts All Summer Long! - The Summer Sizzle Blog Hop Series

Today I am thrilled to share with you my sweet friend, Dawn from Above the Waves. This highly organized lady is my hero! In the most gentlest of ways, she inspires me to a higher level of efficiency and organization! Her heart is pure and she loves with arms wide open.  I am blessed to call her friend. Her topic today isn’t an easy one. It’s about trusting God when life is hard. If you are anything like most of us, the urge to take control rears its ugly head in the most vociferous of ways when things get difficult. But trusting God takes letting go of control. I pray that if today your heart is hurting in the hard places of life and you are finding it hard to trust God, He meet you here in these words and give you peace and hope.

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When Life is Hard and Trusting God Even Harder - 2 Simple truths we need to old onto when it iis difficult to trust God. Dawn Klinge for Lori Schumaker

 

Today, I’ve got all kinds of pressing matters upon me, things like pulling the dryer out from the wall to sweep behind and scrubbing the bricks around the fireplace. Rearrange the pictures on the walls?  Yes. Suddenly the arrangement they’ve been in really bothers me.

But sit down and write?   I want to.  I really do, but these words are not easy. 

Today’s topic is about trusting God when it really hurts.  I tend to shy away from pain, both my own and other people’s. Jesus didn’t shy away from pain though, so tough as it is, by His grace, neither will I.

I won’t pretend to have this all figured out.  I don’t want to give you cliché answers.  Maybe you’re experiencing deep pain right now.  I want you to know that I care, that God cares, and that he hurts with you.  God is trustworthy- he is completely sovereign, he is infinite in wisdom, and he is perfect in love.  The Holy Spirit is the one who changes our hearts, who helps us to take this knowledge, from something we acknowledge with our minds, to a deeper understanding that we possess with our hearts.

Sometimes the pain is so deep, the evil so bitter, we have a hard time seeing where God is. 

What then?

What do we do when we have a hard time seeing God? #trustingGod #hope #summersizzlebloghop @dawnklinge Click To Tweet

Honor your pain.  Don’t ignore it or try to numb it.   Though well intentioned, when we try to comfort a grieving person by telling them that the pain will go away, we can unintentionally hurt them more.  Pain has a purpose.  Philip Yancey gave a speech to a group of students at Virginia Tech in 2007, after the horrific shooting that occurred there, taking 33 lives.  He said this,

“I point to the pain you feel, and will continue to feel, as a sign of life and love. I’m wearing a neck brace because I broke my neck in an auto accident. For the first few hours as I lay strapped to a body board, medical workers refused to give me pain medication because they needed my response. The doctor kept probing, moving my limbs, asking, “Does this hurt? Do you feel that?” The correct answer, the answer both he and I desperately wanted, was, “Yes. It hurts. I can feel buy nolvadex or clomid it.” Each sensation gave proof that my spinal cord had not been severed. Pain offered proof of life, of connection—a sign that my body remained whole.”

God does not cause pain, but sometimes he allows it, and he has promised, that for those who love him, he will redeem it (Romans 5:3).

When Life is Hard and Trusting God Even Harder - 2 Simple truths we need to old onto when it iis difficult to trust God. Dawn Klinge for Lori Schumaker

So where is God in our pain?

He’s with us, and he uses his people, his church to be his hands and feet, to offer comfort.  Seek out community in your pain.  We are not meant to be alone.

We are not meant to be alone #trustingGod #hope #summersizzlebloghop @dawnklinge Click To Tweet

Finally, bring your pain to God through prayer.  You might be angry.  He can take it.  You might not understand.  You don’t have to.  Trust in the one who loves you perfectly.  Jesus endured the most incredible pain imaginable, willingly, in his love for you.  He showed us through his example that he has compassion on those who are hurting.

I’ll leave you with this.  Pain is a part of life for now.  It won’t always be like this.  Trust that what John writes is true:

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” -Revelation 21:4



Dawn is a freelance writer and Christian blogger who loves encouraging women to keep their focus on Jesus.  She’s the author of Look to Jesus:  How to Let Go of Worry and Trust God.  She’s a wife and mom to two teens.  A Seattle girl, she loves books and coffee. You can find her at Above the Waves,  and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.



Wait! Have you missed any of the Summer Sizzle Blog Hop Series Posts? If so, you can find those HERE!

And how about the most popular posts from the #ChosenandWorthy Series? Those are right HERE !

Hope is at the heartbeat of living victorious lives. Without hope, what do we have? But to hold onto that hope, there are some things we have to embrace like our identity in Christ, the power of gratitude, a positive thought life, prayer, and the Word of God. Would you like extra encouragement to keep you focused on the right things? The things that will keep your hope alive?



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Last, but definitely not least, thank you for joining me here each week to share the hope given to us through Christ. Whether your words come from a story that points to the full healing you have experienced in Christ, or its a story of the journey along the road to the healing you know He is working in you, it is giving hope to others. Your words matter and it honors me to have you share them here in this space!

What I ask of you:#MomentsofHope Link-up; www.lorischumaker.com; Read, share, and together hope for tomorrow.
  1. Share up to 2 blogpost URLs resonating with the topic of HOPE. That which gives us hope for tomorrow and hope for victory. The little things and the big that inspire us to lean into Jesus and let Him carry us through.

2.#MomentsofHope is a place to give and get hope, so let’s encourage others in their efforts to share the hope of Jesus. If you have time, stop by more than one sweet writer’s little corner of the blog world!

  1. Please either grab the #MomentsofHope button found here or link back to me. If you’ve been featured, grab your button here!

Finally, find me linking up with these encouraging places!

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31 Comments

  1. Yancy has published that speech as a chapter in one of this books, and it’s stellar! Disappointment with God, Where is God When it Hurts? — he has offered so much wisdom over the years through is words about living in a broken world with our pain.

    Thanks for being willing to “go there” today, Lori and Dawn, even though it’s not an easy topic.

    1. Thank you, Michele. It’s not an easy topic, but Dawn has handled it with such grace, hasn’t she? What a blessing!

  2. Dawn – Where I am at it is 4:13 am and I can’t sleep. So, I grabbed my computer and started reading your post. I had a painful conversation before bed, and it left me feeling sad and like I had failed at so much and yet I know that isn’t true. Your post has reminded me pain is not all bad. Pain does have a purpose. I need to not ignore it but learn from it and trust God with it. Thank you —— I am closing down my computer and doing just that – Taking it all to God.

    1. God’s timing is wonderful, even in little details like this. Thank you, Maree!

  3. Philip Yancy has shared so much wisdom in his book and it so spoke to my heart when I read it. It is good for us to be reminded that our God is present with us, right beside us, in the midst of all we go through.

    1. Amen – yes, He has not left us; He is with us! Thank you, Joanne!

  4. Thanks for this, the scared art of lament has been lost in the feel good world. I believe God honors honest lament

    1. I think you’re absolutely right! Thank you for being here with us!

  5. dawnklinge says:

    Thank you, Lori, for allowing me to share here today. I pray these words will bless your readers- as so many of your words have blessed me.

    1. Thank you so much for sharing with us, Dawn! What a blessing your words are – thank you!

  6. “Honor your pain… Pain has a purpose.” These are hard truths. But they are truths and we need to respect them. Thanks for your honesty, Dawn. We all either have had, will have, or are in pain right now, and we don’t need to ignore it.

    1. That’s so true, Lisa. Ignoring it is not going to hurt and isn’t going to open the door for God to heal it. Thank you!

  7. Timely reminder and encouragement for me Dawn. “Honor your pain.” It doesn’t quite make sense until you commit to doing so in partnership with God.

    1. That’s so true, Crystal. It’s like taking that first step of faith – we may not see the whole path, but we can step out in that first step of faith!

  8. Beautiful words of encouragement fortified by truths from God’s word Dawn.Pain is not something I enjoy but I am trying to understand that God can use pain to accomplish His purpose. He asks us to trust Him. Thank you for sharing your heart here today, and thank you Lori for sharing. I hope you ladies have a blessed week and Godspeed in all your endeavors.

    1. It takes faith that God can use our pain for His purpose, doesn’t it, Horace? Thank you for being here today!

  9. Dawn- loved this post! The example of Yancy’s story was inspiring. We tend to look at pain as something we want to shoo away so fast, but it’s a sign we are very much alive. What a perspective shifter;)
    Lori- sending hugs to you! I hope your summer has been refreshing!

    1. I love those perspective shifts, Julie – just what we need sometimes!
      Blessings, friend!

  10. Oh, how I look forward to the day when all pain is wiped away. In the meantime GOD IS WITH US! Amen!

    1. Oh, yes! I am looking forward to that day as well!