Stay Strong and Trust

Fun fact: The flower in this picture is a gladiolus, and it symbolizes strength. :)

Have you ever wondered why your life is so hard? Everyone's got it easy. No one knows what you go through. It's very likely you've thought that at some point in your life. (If not, don't worry, your time will come. :P)



You've been doing so well. You come out of the woods, and you're on top of the world because of what you've just accomplished. It was the hardest thing you've ever had to do.

Now, you come to a body of water. Smiling to yourself, you notice how calm and glassy the surface is. So wrinkle free that you can see your reflection. It's gonna be smooth sailing from here on out.

Setting your eyes on your destination, you take a step and plunge into the water, eager to continue your journey. The water is so calm you propel yourself forward, slicing through it quickly and effortlessly. You think, "This is great! I've totally got this!"

When you think you're almost there, all of a sudden you hear a low rumble. You stop swimming, and look up at the sky just in time to see dark clouds appear out of nowhere, blocking out the sun. Thinking nothing of it, you continue swimming. You'll reach your destination before anything happens.

If only that were true.

With a loud crack, rain pours from the sky. The wind picks up, and before you know it, waves have formed and you find that you can use them to move forward, you're going faster. That is, until they become massive- almost separate bodies of water. The next thing you know, you're being violently tossed around. These waves are crashing over your head.

Lightning. Thunder. Wind. Rain.

You're just barely staying above water.

Finally, the storm passes, but you don't even notice because you're so tired. You're not even really moving forward, you're just floating there, trying gather what strength you have left, if any.

Surely, you must be very close to your destination now. You look ahead to see how much farther it is but. . . you don't see anything. What? It was there before! Why can't I see it now? 

Deep down you're beginning to get discouraged, but unwilling to admit it, you forge ahead, determined to reach the other side.

It doesn't take long though, for trouble to find you once again. Although you don't see anything, something latches onto your leg. Before you know what's going on, water closes over your head. Your mind registers what's happening, and you struggle to get away. Managing to break the surface, you gasp for air. You take a deep breath only for it to be knocked out again by a blow to the side.

All you know is that you have to get away, but you're still so weak. You can't go on. Maybe you should give in. Just give up.

So you cease struggling.

Then, you hear it. A voice. As it gets louder, you realize that you recognize it. You've heard it before, it's familiar. You remember that it helped you once, surely it will help you now.

With renewed strength, you fight. You push through. You overcome. Your destination is unknown, but you forge ahead anyway. You trust that voice, even though you don't know what will happen, or if you'll reach your destination at all.





We don't know why God lets things happen sometimes. We may find out later, and we may not. When God does that, we have a tendency to say, "Why? Why me? What did I do wrong? Why are You punishing me?"

But stop and think about it for a minute. Maybe God's not punishing you for something that you did, but preparing you for something that you will do. God is never going to give us more than we can handle. I mean, why would He? He wants us to succeed, not fail!

If we fail, that's not God's fault. That's on us. If we try to do things ourselves, we'll fall. But God is always there to help us back up. . . if we ask Him.

In order for us to grow, our limits have to be pushed. Don't be content to stay where you are. Live for God! And if that means life gets rough, then so be it.

Stay strong and trust that God has everything under control.

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us." Romans 8:18 (NKJV)

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)

Pics are from Pinterest and Google