“But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness….” 2 Corinthians 12:9

The Keys

I’ve been asked frequently “what are the keys, the things you have found helpful in making it through the long, unexpected journey you’ve been on?”

TRUST is probably the foundation stone of this journey for me. From day one I’ve said to the Lord that I don’t understand all that has happened, but I trust Him. He is absolutely, 100% trustworthy. Trusting Him as we go through a hard time is so important as it helps release the grace we need to make it through. The enemy wants us to blame God for the trials that come our way, but that’s his lie.

WORSHIP, GRATITUDE, THANKFULNESS are also foundation stones. I don’t even know how to convey how valuable they are. In the heaviest, hardest moments when I tell the Lord I love Him and I thank Him for His goodness, the load is immediately lightened. Worship is a powerful tool that God has placed in our hands.

PRAYER is vital! And by this, I mean talking to Him. Pouring out my heart to Him. Having conversations with Him. Listening to Him speak back into my heart. I’ve been alone for countless hours on this journey. I talk to God like He’s sitting in the room with me. I know I can’t bottle things up inside me, so I let it all pour out to my wonderful Father.

HOPE must be kept alive. If we lose hope, we shrivel up and die. I can’t fake it, I can’t pretend. When I call upon Him, He rekindles the dying wick of hope in my heart and helps it burn bright again.

FAITH is needed too. My faith isn’t always strong, but I ask Him to strengthen and increase my faith. I’ve continually felt a freedom from Him to have faith for and believe for miracles. I feel His encouragement to ask. My faith, thankfully, is not based on me but on Him.

His WORD—spending time reading the Bible is vital. The promises in His Word help build trust, faith, hope, and thankfulness in our hearts. I’ve had a close relationship with the Lord since I was a child, but I have pressed into Him at new levels and dug deeper into His Word daily during this long journey. Sometimes His Word seems to speak in whispers, other times it seems to be shouting—but it definitely speaks!

GRACE is vital! I absolutely couldn’t make it without His sustaining grace! I can’t work it up. I can’t pretend it’s there. I can’t fake it. I have to lean into Him minute by minute and receive His sustaining grace. He freely gives it.

JOY unspeakable, which He inexplicably gives in the midst of the trials and suffering. It’s not a bubbly, happy-go-lucky joy. It’s a deep-rooted, profound, intense joy that comes straight from His heart to mine. It feeds the very depths of my soul with His strength and goodness in a way that words can’t describe.

CONTENTMENT is possible in the midst of trials and suffering. It’s not being content in the circumstances, but finding contentment in Him in the circumstances.

PEACE that passes understanding. The kind of peace that we can’t explain that the Lord gives takes the contentment to the depth of my soul. It’s a peace that helps me keep going, that calms my spirit when the storms are raging all around me, that allows me to sleep at night when things in my world seem out of control.

I heard someone share recently that when we break our arm and it heals, it’s actually stronger than it was before. I’m convinced that one of the purposes for suffering in our lives is that we’ll come out stronger on the other side because of all that God has done in our lives during the time of suffering. I’m believing for that in my life and in the lives of our family. We’ve been through a long journey of suffering, but God can bring us out stronger on the other side of it!

“Father, may it be to me according to Your will. Thank You.”