Temporarily Out of Order

So, I've been struggling. A lot. Usually I write a new post because God has given me some sort of new insight or answer to a problem I've been having, but I deal with a lot of things that I don't have fresh, new insights for. Many times, it's the same thing over and over again, and it's painful.

Life is sometimes really painful. I haven't experienced pain near what other people have - but I can still testify to the fact that everyone knows: life is painful. It's not always painful; there are really good times. Those times can last for years and years. But there are also really bad times. And those seem to go on for (it feels like) ever.

But you know what I realized as I was struggling this time? This time that has gone on for months, but has seemed to last forever?

It's temporary.

Yeah. The pain? That's temporary. Not to be replaced with more pain, but to be replaced with glory.

Mhm. Glory. And good. And Jesus.

Although life is painful, life is temporary. And the pain is temporary. If you are a born-again Christian, your pain (however extreme) is temporary. Meaning, there will be an end to it.

It seems elementary, but it's easy to forget when you're right in the middle of some struggle. Can I say it again, since it feels so good to say? This pain is temporary.

But the Bible says it better than I do. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 says, "That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever."

"Small" troubles? That won't last "very long"? Uh, my troubles are big, and they've already lasted for long enough. That's my knee-jerk reaction to these verses. But, praise God, Paul wrote these verses because God had shown him a glimpse of the bigger picture.

Though the troubles we face in our life may last for years, that time is so short compared to the eternal glory that comes afterward. Though they may be painful beyond belief, they're small, and even 'light' compared to the enormous, beautiful, real glory that you're going to see a little later. I see it as a minute of pain for 100 years of happiness. That minute may be really intense, and it might really hurt during that time-period, but in the end, it's only a minute. And then it's over, never to return again. Because it was temporary.

In the end, life is painful. The struggle is real. But the struggle is also (one last time) temporary. You know what's not temporary? Jesus. And His glory. If you hold out in this minute of pain, you'll get to stay around for the lifetime of His glory. I'd say it's a good trade-off.

Encouragement Shpeel Pt. 2

I started out writing this post with a long introduction and all my thoughts leading up to what I wanted to say, but I really wanted to get to the point. So, without an interesting, quirky introduction or preface, here it is:

If you're a human being like me, you are probably struggling with something in your life right now. It could be big, it could be small. It could be small to others but big to you. I just wanted to remind you that God is a restorative God. If Satan's throwing something at you that's really hurting you (e.g. recurring sin, fear that keeps coming back, etc.), and you feel just broken down and torn up from it, you need to know that God has the power to restore you. Read this passage from Jeremiah 33:

"Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security. I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before. I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me. Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.’

“This is what the Lord says: ‘You say about this place, “It is a desolate waste, without people or animals.” Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, inhabited by neither people nor animals, there will be heard once more the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord, saying,

“Give thanks to the Lord Almighty,
    for the Lord is good;
    his love endures forever.”
For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,’ says the Lord.

“This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In this place, desolate and without people or animals—in all its towns there will again be pastures for shepherds to rest their flocks. In the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah, flocks will again pass under the hand of the one who counts them,’ says the Lord."


If you're struggling with something, but feel like you're "getting better" with it, it's not enough. God's will is not that you get partially healed from something and just deal with the rest. He has big promises. "I will bring health and healing to [insert your name here]; I will heal her/him and will let her/him enjoy abundant peace and security." That's you. That's God's promise to you. He restores. He promised.

For me personally, I'm praying that God completely restores me, because He promised to. I love that later in the chapter, he says, "I would no more reject my people than I would change my laws that govern night and day, earth and sky." He won't reject you if you ask him. Restoration, from whatever it is, is coming.