Marathoners call it “hitting the wall.” They come to a point where their bodies say, “No more.” Their legs feel like they are made of lead. Their respiratory systems scream, “Stop!”
Triathletes call it “bonking.” As they swim, then ride, and finally run, they feel their bodies begin to shut down. They’ve “bonked.”
You don’t have to be an extreme athlete to know how it feels to hit a point where it seems you simply can’t press on.
In these times the enemy of our soul wants to whisper, with sinister intent, “You will never make it. This road is too long and too challenging.”
God speaks a radically different message. Through his Word, by his Holy Spirit, and through the lives of wonderful examples, God declares with heavenly wisdom, “You’ll get through this. It won’t be painless. It won’t be quick. But I will use this mess for good. In the meantime, don’t be foolish or naive. But don’t despair either.”
How are you doing today?
Have you hit the wall? Have you bonked?
Do the challenges ahead appear insurmountable? If so, there is a story you absolutely have to hear. It is about a young man named Joseph who discovered that God is near even when it seems there is no way to make it through.
God is ready and able to help you, whatever your dilemma. If you don’t believe it, just ask Joseph — you will find him at the bottom of a pit.
You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
1 Corinthians 9:24
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Isaiah 40:31
But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
Excerpted with permission from You’ll Get Through This by Max Lucado, copyright Max Lucado.
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Your Turn
God doesn’t promise that getting through trials will be quick or painless. That certainly wasn’t the case for Joseph in the Bible, who was tossed in a pit by his brothers, sold into slavery, wrongfully imprisoned, forgotten and dismissed, but God ultimately used the intended evil against Joseph for a greater purpose. But, no matter what pit we find ourselves in, God has a plan and a pathway forward. With God’s help, we’ll get through this — together. ~ Laurie McClure, Faith.Full