I recently sent a text to a spiritual mentor summarizing the latest developments in the challenge I am facing. I was basically asking, “What else can I do to make this get better as quickly as possible?” His response was not what I wanted to hear, but it was filled with wisdom. “You are doing good things but you are so focused on wanting the struggle to stop. You need to seek and sense Jesus in the struggle.” His words echoed what I had been sensing the Holy Spirit saying. I have been praying for the healing, but God wants to do so much more than that. I have sensed the Holy Spirit saying to me to allow Him to mold me and draw me closer to Him through this time. I need to shift my focus from begging God to quickly change the situation to seeking Him in the situation (while I continue to pray for healing). It’s a tough lesson because it’s not natural to me, but it is one I need to learn. God is inviting me to submit to His sovereignty and rest in that.  

This quote humbles me and strangely gives me peace, “If today you are broken, feeling crushed by the weight of a trial, you have a choice. You can harden your ears and refuse the sovereign purpose of God that will one day prove good or you can run to Him and participate in the blessing God has planned. Can I help you make that choice? Choose to bury your face, even your tears in the mystery of His sovereignty. It’s a hard choice, but one you will never regret.” (James MacDonald in Gripped by the Greatness of God) 

We have so much hope because our God is involved in our lives. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). God is with me in these difficulties. He could make them all go away, but He hasn’t done that today, so I will trust Him and lean into Him in the midst of this. I can accept my situation because my trust and hope are in a powerful God and I am seeking Him in the midst of the difficulties.