Proven often during a lifetime, ungracious hards pile up in layers, one heaping atop another. Many experience this with the pandemic. People already struggling with difficult situations had another layer added when the virus spread. Despite the dissension over aspects of Covid-19, we all agree on one thing: the results make life difficult. From sickness to unemployment to malaise. From nightmare schedules to loneliness to financial distress. As these difficulties pile more layers to already existing struggles, we begin to feel we can’t handle it all.
But, praise God, His children don’t have to lug layers of hard alone, or in their own strength.
One beauty of God’s goodness in the hard is that His grace also comes in layers. The more we need, the more He provides. The greater our weakness, the greater His power is made perfect and rests upon us. (2 Corinthians 12:9) The more trials spotlight our need of a Savior, the more we seek Him and experience His lavish love.
So, when the pandemic came careening into our lives, landing smack dab in the middle of a pile of trouble we’re already carrying … battling cancer or disease, caring for a loved one, struggling through grief, walking through valleys of mental illness, suffering silently from any number of hardships, anxiety, or overwhelming responsibility … we need to remember Who we serve.
Our God is no sit-on-the-shelf, passive, made from the hands of men, idol. He reigns alive, active and powerful. He swirls in abounding love and faithfulness, compassion and graciousness. (Exodus 34:6) He knows every nook and cranny of the universe because He created the heavens and the earth. (Colossians 1:16) And, He knows every minute detail about us, from our actions and reactions to our thoughts and desires. He knit us together in the womb and He searches us to know us well. (Psalm 139:1-4;13)
God is our miracle-working, chain-breaking, handle-any-hard, Abba Father. He is absolute truth in confusion. His light illuminates all darkness. Through Him we trade sorrow for His joy.
Dear one, if you feel the suffocating weight of layers of difficulty, don’t loose heart. As we walk paths treacherous with obstacles of varying sorts, sizes and shapes, perusing altitudes that sap our breath and energy, He remains Immanuel: God with us. He sees through the top layer of trouble down to the nitty gritty at the very bottom, and everything in between. His compassion flows toward and around us. We need only to look for Him, to open our ears to His gentle voice, to seek Him with all our heart, and He will manifest Himself, proving His faithfulness over and over.
Layers of hard ease and diminish under layers of God’s grace and mercy.
Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
