Nobody likes being disappointed. Nobody wishes for things to just fall apart. Nobody wants to be in the hardest time of their life.

But, we all find ourselves there at some point. We all eventually face the news we most didn’t want to hear. We all get let down. We all watch something precious fall apart. And we all wonder why. Why would a good God allow this?

If God is all knowing, meaning he knows about every detail of our life before it ever happens… And if God is all powerful, meaning nothing is too hard for God and his power can change absolutely anything… Then someone tell me why.

Why was there a family who buried their precious 15 year old daughter this week after a car accident? Why were their innocent lives lost in a mass shooting yesterday? Why would a husband and wife, who have dedicated their lives to rescuing and loving orphaned children, both lose their jobs at the same time and face financial disaster?

It’s hard for our human minds to comprehend how God knew it and didn’t stop it. Why wouldn’t he intervene?

I don’t have any life altering or ah-ha moment type of answers here. The only thing I know is we only see life for here and now. God sees our lives in light of eternity. What is here is temporary. What is now is so finite in his infinite hands. Death here is not final, it is a necessary graduation to the true destination of our souls. Y’all the party hasn’t even started here. There’s so much more.

But here’s what I’m learning about these times of disappointment … they bring me to God. These times of everything falling apart … they make me surrender. These rock bottom hard times of life … they cause me to seek the Rock, the one everything is built on. Yes, I’m the girl who wouldn’t hit her knees until she was first knocked there.

Here’s the truth: Every time we face anything that causes us to cry out to God, we’re brought onto holy ground.

Are you in the middle of a hard time? This is your holy time! This is your close-to-God time.

James 4:8, “Come close to God, and God will come close to you.”

As humans, we naturally get distracted when life is ridiculously good. When there’s nothing absolutely overwhelming happening in your life, you’re not seeking God for every little thing. Why would we when there’s not an obvious need?

When there’s plenty of money in the bank, you’re simply not seeing every dollar as miraculous provisions from God. Seriously … if you had money to pay the electric bill this month, you were not in awe over the fact that the lights came on when you flipped the switch. But if you couldn’t pay that bill, another day where the lights came on was a reason for a mini praise session in your housecoat before you even had coffee!

When you’re not in a battle for your life, you’re very rarely waking up amazed that you’re somehow still alive today. But if you’re living on borrowed time and the doctor’s estimation of days left have already expired, today is a big bonus. We’re talking jackpot bonus. You didn’t know if you would see October 27th, and here you are still alive. Dang, the rest is just gravy!

When you’ve struggled with addiction, you learn to count the days of sobriety like each one is a divine gift. Another day you weren’t tricked into going back. Another day you fought and won. Another day God gave you strength to stay clean. And here you are waking up to another day sober and proud of yourself!

When you’ve lost a child, pregnancy isn’t something to complain your way through. A baby crying isn’t a nuisance. A baby is a miracle. A gift. A blessing.

Struggle changes us, and God knows that. He knows hard times that hit our lives bring us close to him. And any time we are coming close to him, he is coming close to us. And when God is close, it is holy.

This hard time is your close-to-God time. It’s not just a hard time, it’s a holy time.

This is why Jesus said in Matthew 5: 3-4,“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

This is the time when we are held tight by God. This is the time when he protects our minds in unspeakable ways. This is the time when he closes the door and just sits with us. This is when we are filled with peace that doesn’t even make sense. How does this happen? We come close to God. And when we come close to God, God comes close to us. When God comes close to us, we are blessed. Blessed with peace, blessed with comfort, blessed with provisions, blessed with open eyes to see all he is doing in the midst of this hard time, making it a holy time.

Let’s read parts of Matthew chapter 5 from the Message translation to better understand what Jesus is teaching us.

“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God.”
“You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.”
“You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.”
“You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.”

Right now, in this place of hardship, hurt and struggle, there’s less of you and more of God. Right now, you are being embraced by the One who can use all of this harm for good. Here, in this mess where you seem to have lost everything, you have gained everything … every priceless thing that can’t be bought. Here, in this place you never wanted to be, God is changing your heart and mind on the inside so that you can see him everywhere on the outside.

Every disappointment becomes a divine appointment. A time when we are close to God. A time declared holy. The hardship brought you here, now God meets you here. And in this holy space and holy time where your hands are open because they have been emptied, you are filled. You are filled with the power of God’s spirit. You are filled with his love that carries you. You are filled with supernatural strength you never knew you had. You are filled with a new perspective, a new appreciation, and a new awareness of God’s presence all around you.

And in the process, you are healed. Healed in holy moments by a holy God who uses your hard times as holy times.

This hard time is a holy time. Holy because it’s brought you to God. And God has been brought to you. He’s drawn to your hurt. He’s drawn to your need. He is responding. Right now, he is coming in close to you. And his closeness to you is carrying you through. Carrying you through this life until you graduate. And when you graduate, honey, then the real party begins. Paradise. Forever. Me and you.

I’ll bring the fun games, you bring the cake!

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