Faithful in Hardship
I love this C.S Lewis quote: “We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
God never leaves us alone in our pain and suffering. We can trust the Almighty God to be at work even if we can’t see it or if He works in a way we would never expect. The same was true for Daniel as he sat in the den of lions believing that God would deliver Him. Daniel was faithful to trust in the One True God while God was faithful to Daniel.
This wasn’t the first time Daniel had been faithful. He had developed a lifestyle of faithfulness, which was rooted in his faith in God who is always faithful. These daily and seemingly small moments of faithfulness prepared Daniel for the bigger moments in his life. His faithfulness was not wasted. In fact, it caught the attention of the king. We see this curiosity even in king Darius as he got up and checked on Daniel “in the morning, at the earliest sign of daylight” (Daniel 6:19).
Faithful in Our Witness
I believe that even in the hardest of hearts of those who deny or question that there is a God, even they have a curiosity, whether they admit it or not. This is true especially as they witness lives of true believers who endure and suffer well. Our faithfulness matters not only in our relationship with Christ but in our relationships with those in our lives. In a culture that runs from pain, chooses happiness over holiness, and is quick to discard and walk out when the going gets tough, believers can stand out by the way we model faithfulness.
We are called to be stewards of every good and perfect gift the Lord has given us. Yes, every single thing you and I have, the clothes on our back, roof over our head, food on the table, money in the bank, children to snuggle and raise up, friendships, church community, it’s all from the Lord. How are you doing at stewarding these things? In looking at your life, would the watching world say that you trust that God will provide your every need?
Faithful Through Each Day
It’s in the faithfulness of the small, everyday things of life that we learn how to be faithful when the big moments of life arise. God never wastes any part of our lives. He has a purpose for it all, and they are ultimately meant for His glory.
I have experienced time and time again the Lord revealing Himself in my pain and suffering. During these seasons, I have to cling to the truth of who God is. I have to remind myself of His past faithfulness through my life: the small and the big. Since God’s character never changes, I can trust that He will provide and be with me no matter what. I can remember that:
He is our God of peace.
Our comforter.
Our hope.
He comes through for His people.
Meditating on truth can help you hold fast and press forward. If you’ve got breath in your lungs, He is still writing your story, and you have a story to tell.
Faithful with Our Stories
A lot of times, we are longing for easier or better days, or we are waiting for a season to be wrapped up into a pretty bow before seeking to be faithful. If you think you’ll love God more, serve Him more, give Him more when life is “better” or more “secure” …. spoiler alert! That won’t happen. If we can’t love Him or serve Him now with the little or hard, I guarantee you it will be that much harder when you are sitting in abundance (Luke 16:10).
We have a responsibility to be faithful with our story. When I was going through divorce, there was so much heaviness and shame that tempted to silence me. I was looking at my story as failing, and it felt, at times, like my life was a disappointment to God. How could He be glorified in the absolute shambles of my life?
So, I decided to share my story as it was unfolding. I didn’t wait until I saw the Lord’s faithfulness play out, but I trusted that He would be faithful. God is who He says He is. He does what He says He will do. I decided to let people in along the way as He wrote a beautiful story from the dust.
We have an opportunity, even in hardships, to point to the Faithful One and be faithful ourselves. We know that as believers we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. He is the one who empowers us to choose faithfulness each day. There are people in your life right now who are desperate to know where hope can be found. We’ve all been beat up and torn down these past few years. This world is not our home and it certainly feels less and less like home these days. Your faithfulness points them to the only One who is worthy and who offers life, freedom, and joy.
Pain is a microphone, and the world is watching to see if we will cave or cling to who we say is Faithful. Let’s play a part in rousing a deaf world.
