Jesus said, John 16:33 (KJV): “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation (trouble): but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
Life can be tough. There are times when life hurts us, when people hurt us, and circumstance seems to come against us. You will experience sadness and loss when people leave you or hurt you, and you may also leave people behind and hurt people. I have been hurt and I have been responsible for hurt. Hurt often happens where money or power or other resources are concerned. You may feel lost and forgotten, as if you have no control, like a rudderless ship. Sometimes you then have to go where the water takes you. Adapt and move forward. Keep your mind fixed on hope and belief that things will get better, whatever you are going through.
When I was a child, I felt abandoned by the world. I was an angry, miserable, isolated little girl – not all of the time, but there were enough of these times for me to remember this as a pattern of behaviour. There were years when I was at primary school that I remember having no friends. I once gave a friend a note saying not to be friends with me anymore, he was a boy who really liked me, after he teased me, and I just refused to be friends again – how that must have hurt! Where was my forgiveness! I only apologised to him recently after so many years and he is a great person. Ironically he might have helped me cope with my family life and other situations. My best friend, Ruth, left school to move down to the coast with her family, and her circle of friends then stopped being my friend. I did not really want to be friends with someone else who was there for me, a wonderful person called Sandra who did want to be friends with me, someone who had an external head harness to keep her teeth braces in place – I seem to remember I wondered what people would think of me if I associated with her, and I preferred isolation to teasing. Now that was really stupid of me! Why did I want so much to be accepted by people who did not like me, yet I ignored the people who did want to be friends with me? I am sure she may have felt my reluctance in being friends and I am very sorry now, and wish I could tell her. Is this something you might do too? Connect with and treasure people who do like you, as they may really need a friend too. And there are many good people in the world who will not hurt you, so don’t judge someone based on past experience, only form an opinion once you really have enough information.
I started blaming God for all of my trouble and for what people were doing and the bad situations I found myself in. Then I decided that I could no longer believe in God. Why would He let certain things happen? I didn’t even take the time to ask Him for help and if He was not part of my life, how could I expect Him to help me? It has taken a long time for me to realise that God is not the one responsible for the problems in this world: on a personal level often it’s my own doing, in the things I may say to others or the attitude I might have, or it may be other people who are responsible for hurting me. On a grander scale, are we really all following an honourable, caring path? There's a saying that says "The only thing necessary for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing." (Edmund Burke). I am so grateful for men and women who step forward to become police officers, people who fight for justice, for mercy for the voiceless, for people who come to the assistance of those unjustly jailed for crimes they did not commit. Where would the world be if it were not for people like these? I am so grateful for ethical people and ethical leaders in society today. There are also many organisations, like charities, where people do care, volunteers that work without money to make the world a better place, for example for refugees fleeing famine, or for flood hit areas and any number of other natural disasters, or for people mired in generational poverty and with ill health.
I now have belief in a loving God, who I fear and respect greatly, and believe that, when the time is right, He will make sure answers become clear for the world. This might not be in my lifetime. My faith in God gives me strength to persevere in spite of trouble. It is a sense of knowing from my heart that I will be able to overcome any circumstance that life may throw at me. I still have daily struggles, but I can see huge improvements in myself. I do not think the same way I used to. I still fall back on old habits and old habits die hard, but I am trying to change as I become aware of limiting patterns. God never promised me I would have no trouble again. But I can have peace in my heart. There will always be trials, struggles, temptation. I sometimes have doubt. But God gives me inner strength, especially when I pray and ask Him for help. He holds me in His arms, soothes my sorrow, makes it duller and easier to bear, helps me to change into a better person and this is a slow process, as change is hard. I need to learn my lessons to see my limiting patterns, and change the way I react so I can stop the hold these patterns have on me by keeping me back. This is the journey I am currently busy walking. Jesus, who paid the ultimate price in this world, by sacrificing His life as ransom to Satan for our sins, said that you will have trouble in the world. But you can overcome any situation that comes your way if you believe in yourself and make transcending changes, one small step at a time.
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