This past year has been the toughest of my life. At the end of last year, my dad was working on a roof and fell two stories, breaking his back. Our family got thrown for a loop … everything was chaos. We had to go through court after court trying to get money for compensation. This went on for about 11 months, until we finally got the compensation we needed. He still can’t work, and this puts a ton of pressure on me.
When your car breaks down, when you get a traffic ticket, when you forget your cell phone on the roof of your car and later find it broken apart and strewn across the street all in one week, it’s pretty tough. It’s money that I don’t have that I can’t get from my parents. I find myself just wanting to give up, sit down and not face my problems. It’s easier. But this breaks God’s heart, and He stands there with His arms open wide, waiting for me to run to Him.
When problems come up, that’s when we are faced with the big question:Will we have faith and live for Him, or will we run and hide from our problems, only to be confronted with them later? I hope that I will have faith in Him and trust that He will get me through these trials. Everything inside of me tells me to run and hide in a corner and just get away from it all. But in all of this, God is faithful and will be with me until the end.
So what should we do when our world crashes down, and it seems as if it will never be fixed? The thing is, we have to realize that all that this world has to offer will pass away (1 John 2:17). We spend so much time as individuals worrying about our issues, what to wear, what people will think of us, what we are going to do with our time and even what we are going to eat (Luke 12:22-23). All of this is fairly legitimate to think about, but these things tend to take the focus off of what we should be thinking about … Jesus. We sometimes think that we deserve all the things we have, our earthly treasures, instead of thinking that we are blessed by these things.
Whatever worries you may be experiencing in your own life, even if they are bigger than these struggles I am facing, know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called to His purposes (Romans 8:28-29). Maybe you have lost a parent, a loved one, a good friend or even a spouse. Maybe you have simply lost your job or gotten a ticket. Butremember that God brings good out of every situation that His children deal with, even if the outcome is not visible right now. Prayer and renewing our hearts every day will get us through our problems and struggles. When we go through hard times in our lives, it creates perseverance, humility and dependence on God.
[Tyler Williams enjoys art and makes a living as a graphic designer. He plays guitar and loves writing poetry and songs, hardcore music and body boarding, and he strives to live a life that is holy and blameless in God’s sight.]
