Don't Walk Away

Almost as long as I have been walking with the Lord, I have had a passion to encourage the people of God regarding how to walk through a thing. Concerning the hardest hits in life, worst-case scenario, life altering events and worst nightmare at hand there is great hope, or should I say… will be. The things that literally tear our heart in half and then empty us of everything we knew to be true, leaving a river of tears and pool of blood at our feet, to be dealt with. Those things.

Because if we haven’t gone through anything this life altering, or hard to the point of the possibility of being taken out, then wait longer, because life usually happens. Being battle ready is throughout scripture for such a time.

So can we even walk though a thing and still be standing on the other side? Not only can we, we must. Defeat is not an option. It’s true, in the most extreme issues of life, many would say we are justified to walk away from God. Jobs' friends thought so. The issues were too big, too extreme, too dark. How could he continue? How can we? We might agree that we have every reason; we are justified.

Being a Christ follower is not for the faint of heart. The disciples all suffered awful inhumane deaths, crucified upside down, beheaded, or martyred in some extreme fashion or another.

This type of understanding concerning what it looks like to serve the Lord is foreign in our current culture and generation. It looks differently to most in churches today. I say this with no condemnation but rather asking if we are being equipped for our day of battle?

Revelation 2 and 3 talks about the seven churches, according to each’s strength and weakness accordingly, the Lord brings a rebuke, reproach, and or affirmation and then instructs each to overcome.

Overcome? We don’t hear a whole lot regarding overcoming and what that looks like or when to apply it maybe. It means to beat or win, to conquer, to defeat, to master, prevail, subdue, or triumph. It means that when the dust settles and time passes, we are still standing. We are not the same person, but we not only remain but move forward in wholeness, healing and peace. And continue our purpose in God. 

I see many saints lying on the side of the road. They began a good journey but then for one hard, sad reason or another they didn’t make it out of the season which sidelined them. They lost their song. They stopped their dance. They remain unhealed, disillusioned, heartbroken, maybe even full of anger and bitterness. They have not allowed the Healer to heal or the Restorer to restore.

The off ramp we took and the decision over time not to re-engage gives the enemy the win. Our call remains, our identity has not changed. He will give us the strength needed to even get back up. He meets us there.  He wants to mend every part of our issue, brokenness and disappointment. Everything that went wrong, God wants to make right. Not the same, but a new right. God will refresh, restore and reset us. I know this to be true. He makes all things beautiful in His time. It’s who He is.  

Don’t walk away.