Reason 6
Taken from Dr. Mark Flattery’s book:
Stand Firm: What to do When Life Knocks You Down
6. You must stand because the pain from the defeat will lessen eventually and a new season will come if you stand
You may feel like you are stuck in a rut and that all the energy you are expending amounts to nothing more than spinning your wheels and digging you deeper into your entrapment. Or maybe you feel like Sisyphus from Greek mythology whose punishment was to roll a huge rock
up a steep hill only to have it roll back before reaching the summit. He was forced to repeat this again and again, dooming him to an eternity of never ending frustration. Will this misery ever end?
What is most debilitating in your current situation is that you have lost hope that your life will ever be pain free. You may have exhausted your abilities to change your context and now see no way out. You are stuck in a nightmare with no hope. But as one who experienced life knockdowns, I will ask you to do something that a friend asked me to do when I was at the lowest of my lowest point: remember that this season will pass.
You may not believe me now, but if you turn your mind and heart to Jesus and follow Him completely then you will discover that He will turn the page in your present drama and take you to a new life chapter. In John 10:10, we read that Jesus said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” If you follow the Lord now, then He will get you out of the rut and back on the road again.
I encourage you to be patient and remember that the Lord is moving on your behalf even though you may not see tangible evidence. We call that “faith.” Hebrews 11:1 provides the biblical definition of faith: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” If you will ask God for the strength to stand and live fully again then you must be certain that this season of turmoil will pass and that you will live to see a new day.
One of my favorite episodes in the Book of Acts is the account of Paul and Silas in chapter 16. They walked fully in the Lord’s will as they ministered in Philippi. Paul commanded a demon to leave a slave girl that resulted in him and Silas being seized, humiliated in the marketplace, threatened, stripped, beaten, severely flogged, and thrown into prison. If anyone had the right to be depressed and give up on life, it was Paul and Silas at that moment! Even though they had no hope, humanly speaking, we read, “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God” (Acts 16:25). They were not held captive by human limitations for they knew that this incident was not the final chapter of their lives. They had faith that God was greater than their trials and that someway and somehow, He would bring change.
“Suddenly” (verse 26), an earthquake hit, the chains broke open, and Paul and Silas were freed! These events led to the salvation of the jailer and his household. Paul and Silas knew that God was working behind the scenes to fulfill His plan and that He would turn what was meant for evil into good and that good was the salvation of many lives. In a similar way, this can be your story, too! I encourage you to stand because the pain of your defeat will expire and you will experience a new season!