Holding On for Dear Life

When my devotion ran last week, there were so many comments left on the blog that tugged at my heart. I was glad that so many of you applied the principal to your own circumstances--dealing with divorce (and waiting for redemption), full-time motherhood, and joblessness.

This comment from Anonymous cried out to be addressed:

"Amy, I cling to that verse at this time in my life, but somehow I am finding less and less comfort in it. My husband has been out of work for almost 2 years and we were just served foreclosure papers on our home. We have been married for 24 years and have 3 wonderful children. I am scared to death and can't see any good in what is going on. How do I hold on to my faith at a time like this? Please pray that God sends a job for my husband soon. Otherwise, I fear we will be homeless."

Anonymous, first of all my heart aches for you and your family. I woke up this morning praying for you, and I'll be praying as I post this that God's provision shows itself in miraculous and unforeseen ways. I'm praying that God calms your fears as you seek Him and that He fills you with His own peace that is untied from our circumstances.

Your question, "How do I hold on to my faith at a time like this?" is such a foundational question. .There are no easy answers, but there are two answers that I'd like to offer from those who are far wiser than I.

1. In hard times we hold on to our faith by reading scripture and believing what it says about God's character. My friend Linda, as she was dying from breast cancer, would constantly remind me, "No matter what happens to me, Amy, God is still good." God's character is unchanging. Scripture tells us that He is good. He is love. He is wise, loving and righteous. When our circumstances don't see to match those truths, we have to hold on to the ageless truths about God's character until the circumstances change.

CS Lewis said it this way, "We want not so much a father in heaven as a grandfather in heaven--whose plan for the universe was such that it might be said at the end of each day, 'A good time was had by all.' I should very much like to live in a universe which was governed on such lines, but since it is abundantly clear that I don't, and since I have reason to believe nevertheless that God is love, I conclude that my conception of love needs correction.... it is natural for us to wish that God had designed for us a less glorious and less arduous destiny; but then we are wishing not for more love but for less."

2. My favorite name for God is Redeemer. He is a faithful redeemer. He promises to use all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purposes. Like you, Anonymous, I've been in places where I could not conceive of how it could possibly be turned into good.

Lysa Terkeurst has provided a free resource called "When God Hurts My Feelings" on how we can handle times when we are disappointed with God. She points out that so often we begin to ask "Why?" during these times and that it's not the right question. She says, "If asking the why question doesn't offer hope, what will? The what question. In other words: Now that this is my reality, what am I supposed to do with it?....ask God the following questions: What do you want me to do with what has happened? What can I learn from this?....What maturity could God be building in to me?"

Asking the what question allows us peeks into God's redemption even before circumstances change, and it fuels hope.

There are no easy answers to the question "How do I hold on to my faith during hard times?" If you are a reader and are seeking answers to this very question, I'd again like to refer you to wiser people. Here's a list of books I've read as I've sought the answer to the same question:

Where is God When It Hurts? by Philip Yancey

When Life and Beliefs Collide by Carolyn Custis James

A Grace Disguised by Jerry Sittser