This Will Also Pass

We've had multiple deaths in our family over the last couple weeks. We've battled and are battling illness, and I have lost count of friends and acquaintances who are very sick right now. People are struggling financially, even as their income rises. It rises less quickly than inflation. Children are lacking in the level of education they deserve even as teachers are working harder than ever to balance the endless demands that a broken system continually lay in their hands. Through even our toughest circumstances, I can personally say that drawing near to God does bring comfort and peace through it all, but sometimes, for some, even this is very hard work. To draw near to God when your heart is truly broken, is hard work, I know. Sometimes, just getting up and going to bed is all you have energy enough to do. If you find yourself in this place, I want to promise you something I have learned from experience. One, God is with you. You may feel alone, and He may be quiet, but He has not left you, nor will He. He is with you. He's quiet because He's waiting for the dust to settle, for your ears to hear again, and for grief to have its painful but perfecting work in our souls. Secondly, these troubles will not always be. Constant struggle will pass, days will be brighter, favor will come again, but rather than seeking it, seek completely the presence of God in it all, and you will recognize its coming sooner and brighter than you had ever expected. I don't cease praying for so many of you, and myself included; however, I don't pray that our troubles cease, because I already know they will. I pray that we'll be strengthened and encouraged as we allow these things to draw us nearer to the Lord and develop us according to His will, which is good and perfect. Please be patient with your friends, they may be facing the hardest time of their life, and you may not know anything about it. Pray for one another. Serve one another. By this, you have loved one another.