Hard Times part 1
There's a saying that goes, "Tough times don't last, but tough people do." I like that. All my life I've been told, "Tough it out." Which, I have to say, I think was a benefit. Because that caused me to believe I'm tough. Which allowed me to get through those tough times. Sometimes, though, we need a little help. Even tough guys need support. I don't believe asking for help when you need it is a sign of weakness. I believe asking for help when you need it is a sign of wisdom. You can't do everything. And you can't do everything yourself. Which is ok when you understand that you're not supposed to. Matthew 6:34 in the Message Bible is our key verse for this Rant series, "Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes." I love that. What's that other old saying? "The past is history, the future is a mystery. All we have is now, and that's why it's called the present--because it's a gift!" Something like that. The turtle on Kung Fu Panda is where I'm remembering it from. Anyway. We learn and grow from the past. We plan for the future. But all we can really do is what we can do right now. And while I'm stuffing this Rant full of old sayings, I want to drop this one too: Over and over again the Bible says, "It came to pass." So at my old church we would always say, "It came to pass, not to stay." Life is movement. Life is change. Where you're at right now is not where you're always going to be. You might not even be there tomorrow. You almost certainly won't be there ten years from now. But we, as a human species, really seem to have perfected a snapshot mentality. You look at a picture and it's like the whole world in that one image. Where we think, "This is it. This is how it's always been. This is how it will always be." Even though we KNOW better. We know things are so much different now than they were. And we know that things will be different in the future. It's just so hard sometimes to see past this instant. Even when we're worrying about the next one. Let me do one more memory verse to try to wrap this up and really get us focused on "God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes." It's a verse I use a lot, because it's one of my favorites (I know, they're all my favorites...). "These things have I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Life happens. Tribulations come. Life happens. Every. Single. Day. We all have challenges. But really we all have opportunites. Opportunites to let God get involved. To ask for help when we need it. To learn and grow. To let what's in us come out instead of letting stuff get into us. Tough times don't last... but tough people do. All you can do is let God keep leading you forward. It won't always be easy... but it will always be worth it!