Finding Joy In The Journey

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How to Fight the Helplessness of Suffering

THE STRUGGLE

Working alongside people who suffer enormously, much more than the average first world complaints, can create a level of helplessness. I can’t fix everything. I can’t force people to make choices I believe are better or best for their lives. 

I try to be present in moments of conversation, prayer and assistance. Yet, in the back of my head, there is always a desire to do more. Why can’t things change faster? Why can’t the pain and suffering disappear with a snap of my fingers?

I have these thoughts after late nights on the streets when sleep evades me. I want to see more for the women I encounter. I want them to experience a different life. They do too. Even still, the chasm between their reality and their hopes and dreams feels impossible to overcome on those sleepless nights. 

THE HOPE WE HAVE

What keeps me going despite these late night questions? 

The truth about resurrection. At the core of my faith in Christ is a promise of hope and new life. What appears to be too far gone, too dark, too dead, can still be brought back to life. In other words, new life is possible. The cross and the resurrection of Jesus show us that things are not always as they appear, what we see is not all there is and the future does not always look the way we expect.

Can you imagine being a disciple when Jesus was arrested, beaten and then hung on the cross? All hope was lost. The plans for the future dashed. How devastating it must’ve been for them! Then, a few days later, something better than they could’ve dreamed took place. Jesus came back to life and changed everything.

Sometimes the work I do seems like the middle time between death and resurrection. Thankfully, what I currently see is not all there is. The story doesn’t end in the middle.

Because of my faith, when I speak with women in dire situations, whether they comprehend it or not, I represent resurrection hope and power that is available to them. God can change their situation. What seems impossible is possible—in the smallest and biggest of ways. This hope we have in Christ is for you, for me and for everyone!

I pray we carry this hope and the power of resurrection today into every situation we face. May we be encouraged that what seems dead can be resurrected. Jesus is working even in the middle. 

When “Waiting Patiently” is An Excuse

This post is for the person who has been waiting patiently. Before we go any further, I know there is balance, but some of us have been waiting patiently, too patiently. We’ve labeled it “waiting” when really we’ve been HIDING. We’ve been hoping life will magically roll out the red carpet for our dreams to come true. We’ve been hoping someone will find us and discover that hidden talent or skill set that we want the world to acknowledge and applaud. The problem is we’ve been so shy about it that not many (or does anyone?) know about this desire or gifting.

Questions to ask yourself:

  • What has God called me to be and to do?
  • I can’t be a crazy person and push my way to the front, but am I developing the skill set for this goal, dream or calling?
  • Am I doing everything I can to be the very best at what I want to be, do, become in the current season I am in?

Sometimes our passivity is laziness. Sometimes it’s fear. Sometimes it’s recusing ourselves from any responsibility for life. Sometimes it’s because of bad theology. Our relationship with God is a partnership. We do our part and He does His. His part is so much bigger than ours, but we have a part to play!

Most dreams are not fulfilled in a splitsecond like we’d like, but we can, each one of us, be working towards the God-size dreams we have in our hearts. Waiting is valuable and necessary. What are you doing as you wait for the right doors to open? Are you strengthening your “talent muscles,” growing in humility and integrity, practicing where possible, and increasing your knowledge and experience?

Burying your talent is the opposite of being faithful. Know what you are good at and accept the constructive feedback you receive. Cultivate the gifts you have even as you wait, but please do not hide and mistakenly call it “waiting.”