Tough Times

I've been thinking about the tough times so many people are talking about right now. Whether it's financial, spiritual or emotional so many people I talk to are really struggling with finding hope and peace for their lives. Interestingly enough I find myself in the same category as I too look for ways that I can find hope in times of financial struggle.

I spent the first week after Glorieta wondering if it was a profitable use of my time to pursue writing and coaching. Even though I had heard nothing but positive feedback from the editors and other writers who had seen my work, I wondered if I should go and get a real job. I allowed myself to linger in this doubtful place and proceeded to bury myself in it.
I wondered why God allows bad things to happen and why good people struggle when it seems like people who have no integrity prosper. I felt frustrated by my lack of connection with God, especially when I had felt so connected with God while I was at the writing conference.

The turning point came for me this week when I was talking with my own life coach. We were discussing the very painful struggles that people often face that cause them to turn away from God. I was reminded of Hebrews 4:15-16 "This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most."

There was my answer, I had forgotten that God has a very real perspective on pain and suffering because he himself experienced every sort of struggle there is. He is acutely aware of what we go through. He lays some of His authority aside and allows us to struggle for a purpose. He desires to grow us in our faith and wants us to come to him with our needs. When suffering is met with faith it allows us to demonstrate the power and glory of God.
It would be easy for me to abandon the call on my heart to write and coach and go and get what some people would say is a real job. The truth is, coaching and writing is my real job and it's what I'm called to do. These are things I love to do and regardless of the challenges or struggle s that accompany me staying true to my calling, I will not compromise my commitment to these endeavors.

What ever your circumstance and wherever you find yourself today I want to encourage you to listen to your instincts, stay true to your heart and believe that you are a person of influence in all you do.