In the last post we looked at the challenges that come when we make the decision to let go of past setbacks and choose instead to trust God in moving forward. Today, I want to talk about a part of the process that it seems like we don’t talk about often: the difficulty that can come in getting our feet to move again after so many years of being “stuck” in the effects from difficult circumstances.
Depending on the level of pain or shock encountered, setbacks can cause anything from general new feelings of anxiety to outright mental and emotional paralysis. Maybe for you it was a loss, health challenge, high stress during the past few years, or years of unhealed pain that are now catching up with you.
The heavier the disruption, the harder it can be to know how to move forward.
In these moments our Christian life may start to look different as well. Maybe our relationship with God hadn’t yet formed deep roots, and the shock has us questioning whether He actually loves us. Or, maybe we already trusted God, but the shock took us from being passionate about doing His will to suddenly being stuck in a state of just trying to make it through the next thing.
In both cases and everything in between, God sees us and wants to bring life on the other side of those difficult circumstances.
Steady Hope for the Journey
In Psalm 42, the psalmist writes of a time when his life looked much different from his present reality:
1 As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So pants my soul for You, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
3 My tears have been my food day and night,
While they continually say to me,
“Where is your God?”
4 When I remember these things,
I pour out my soul within me.
For I used to go with the multitude;
I went with them to the house of God,
With the voice of joy and praise,
With a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.
– Psalm 42:1-4 (NKJV)
The psalmist, already downcast and further discouraged by those questioning where God is in his life, turns his attention to happier days from the past. Remembering the joy and praise that once flowed freely, the psalmist’s dejected state now has him seeing through the lens of his pain.
But he doesn’t stay there.
Instead, the psalmist turns his attention back to God and His faithfulness in the very next verse:
"Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance."
Although his life had changed, the psalmist reminds himself of who God is and the hope that is found in Him. The psalmist’s hope remained intact not because of his own strength, but because the One he put his trust in was faithful.
El Hayyay: The God of My Life
Difficult circumstances can cause us to shift our focus to the pain we are experiencing and the seemingly insurmountable obstacles we find ourselves in the midst of, rather than focusing on God and His faithfulness. That’s not to say that the pain doesn’t matter—It does and Scripture reminds us repeatedly that God sees our pain and is with us through it.
We see the psalmist combat his sorrow by running to God for refuge. In verse 8, he makes this important declaration:
"The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me— A prayer to the God (El) of my life (Hayyay)."
His decision had been made: God was his God no matter what.
And that same decision gives us hope to move forward with, too. When our devotion is to God, when our life is built upon Him as our Rock, there’s nothing that can shake us so badly that all hope is lost.
That doesn’t mean the shaking won’t come, but in a way, it’s a blessing for anything that can be shaken in our life to be shaken. The shaking allows anything that isn’t of God to fall away, so that what remains can be strengthened to reflect Him all the more.
Again, this doesn’t negate the very real pain we will feel during certain seasons. There will be times we are on the receiving end of someone else’s sin or will find ourselves in difficult circumstances that we have no control over. As believers, we know that God will make all things new, but He also gives us hope to hold on to in the midst of difficulties.
Verse 8 provides one more sweet glimpse into the security found when we turn to God for refuge…
Recipients of Hesed
As the psalmist returns his attention toward the hope he has in God, he makes the statement:
“The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime…”
The word used for “lovingkindness” is the Hebrew word hesed. In a session at the 2023 Southeast Calvary Chapel Pastors’ Conference, David Guzik explained hesed as the following:
“Hesed, or mercy, is a concept that can’t be translated by just one word. It combines the ideas of mercy, and grace, and lovingkindness, and covenant love. Hesed in concept combines loyalty to a covenant with both love and mercy.”
(David Guzik, SECCPC 2023, Session 9: The Mercy of God, 12:12)
It’s hard to imagine anything more secure than that. The psalmist’s devotion to God was not one chosen begrudgingly. Rather, it was made with a confidence that God is good, He is faithful, and His lovingkindness would surely be with him no matter what life felt like. David echoes this conviction in Psalm 23:6 (NKJV):
"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."
That word for mercy? You guessed it. It’s hesed.
We have a firm footing to move forward with not because we can muster the strength on our own, and not because we “did the right thing” by saying we’re trusting God all the while not truly looking to Him for strength.
No, we have a firm footing when we rest in the confidence that He who promised is faithful, choosing to be devoted to Him “in spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24), and believing that His love for us is more secure than we can imagine.
Getting These Feet to Move
I wish I could honestly say that knowing these truths makes the journey easy. But then again, easy’s not much fun, is it?
There is a very real wrestling match that takes place when the journey starts to poke at the areas of life where we’ve experienced the most pain. It’s easy to beat ourselves up for not trusting God more easily, but in doing that, we may end up putting the burden of being “ready” on ourselves instead of going to God with it.
When we go to God with it instead, though, He meets us there in a way that deepens our relationship with Him and strengthens our faith for the steps ahead. We were made to walk this journey with Him, not muscle our way through so we can perform well for Him. He’s the One who causes us to bear fruit as we abide in Him.
There’s a psychological term that describes positive outcomes forming on the other side of painful situations called post-traumatic growth. Coined in the ‘90s by Richard Tedeschi, Ph.D., and Lawrence Calhoun Ph.D., post-traumatic growth is described as “the experience of positive change that occurs as a result of the struggle with highly challenging life crises.”
Basically, it’s psychology agreeing with what we read in the Word: We can come out of difficult situations changed for the better. And as Christians, we have security through that process when we look to God as our Rock, our Good Shepherd, and our loving Heavenly Father.
When God is the God of our life, we know our story will be marked by His love and faithfulness.
Romans 8:28-29a (NASB) reminds us:
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son…”
He causes all things to work together for our good and His glory, causing us to become more and more like Christ along the way. And that? That’s an exciting truth to hold on to.
In the moments we face obstacles that seem impassable, our battle plan remains the same. God is the one we look to, and He is where our strength comes from. The One who made us can help us move again. He will help us take the next steps forward and teach us how to view our seasons in the light of His redemption.
Here’s to deeper steps and freer living.
Here’s to the journey!
Music for the Journey
Honest Offering / I Surrender All by CAIN
Jesus At The Center by Darlene Zschech
Battle Belongs by Phil Wickham
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