What do we do with life’s curve balls? We expected one thing and ended up with something entirely different. We didn’t see it coming. We assumed life would go well, and then it didn’t. Disappointment, confusion, discouragement, and despair set in. They plant their feet in our minds and sit down hard on our hearts. Now what?
Christ had tough days, too. “...in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered” (Hebrews 5:7-8).
Vehement cries and tears – those are pretty intense emotions. Who better to take our despair and our tears to than Jesus? He knows what we are feeling right now, not just because He knows our thoughts, but because He experienced suffering in the flesh on planet Earth.
Two things that I have learned from family and friends which have served me well through the hundreds of discouraging and disappointing twists and turns in my life: persevere and never give up. In every trial, we have an opportunity to obey and to undergo the refining that fashions us in the image of Christ, if we do not quit.
Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit to guide us through this crazy maze of life. We are not alone. The Holy Spirit is our comforter and counselor. We can ask for His help and lean on His strength. We do not need to suffer alone.
We can pour out our hearts to Jesus. He’s listening. When we’ve dried our tears, we can ask what He wants us to do next.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (1 Corinthians 1:3-4).
Is there someone you can now encourage with the comfort you have received?
If you are still struggling, here is a great book that might lift your spirits, The God of All Comfort, by Hannah Whitall Smith. Whenever I pick up that book, I can randomly turn to any page and find encouragement from her words.
Don’t let life’s curve balls knock you out of the game. Persevere. Don’t quit. Move through it leaning on Christ and His Word. Be obedient. You cannot lose if you do not quit.
I would love to hear how you handle life’s curve balls.