When God Calls Us To Do The Hard Thing

Christians aren’t immune to life’s hardships and traumas. Sometimes, we’re called to face the unimaginable, to stand firm in the storm, or to endure what seems impossible. But how do we do it? How do we trust God in hopeless and inconceivable circumstances?

Hello Everyone,

• Many of us find ourselves in the challenging position of caring for our aging parents. Often, we take care of our children at the same time. It's not that we're unwilling; rather, we live in a world where the time and energy needed for these added responsibilities are often impossible to come by. Yet, despite the demands of modern life, we don’t get a pass from these unexpected responsibilities. Somehow, we’re expected to juggle every appointment, meet everyone’s needs, and still manage to work and pay our bills.

• You and your spouse met, fell in love, and shared years filled with joy and companionship. Now, however, they’re facing health challenges and dementia that require your constant care and presence. Meanwhile, life goes on—you still have to pay bills, shop for groceries, mow the lawn, and handle car repairs. In the middle of this overwhelming responsibility, the person who was once your confidant and support, the one you leaned on in tough times, now sits quietly in a chair, useless and ineffectual. There's no one else. It's just you, and you must manage it all on your own.

• When your first child was born, you instantly fell in love with them. Your whole world shifted, and your focus turned from "me" to "them." Life became about guiding them, creating meaningful experiences, and building a future where they could thrive. Their needs came before yours, their dreams became your priority, and you dedicated yourself entirely to their well-being. And now, at just 15 years old, they're lying lifeless on the floor from a fentanyl overdose. How could this happen? In what world does this make any sense? How am I supposed to keep going? How can I survive this?

Life is filled with countless hardships, many of which are unfair or even cruel. Often, things happen that defy our understanding. We can cling to the apparent injustices of life, letting them make us bitter and resentful, or we can choose to trust in God's providence, accepting that He holds every outcome in His hands.

Let’s Blame God

When we love someone deeply, conflict is often part of the relationship. Anger, frustration, and disagreement arise naturally—it's part of being close to someone. If you’ve never been angry at God, it might mean your relationship with Him isn’t all that personal. Just as with a marriage, if you and your spouse never argue, it may be a sign that there isn’t much passion or depth there.

No, it's a sin. Anger toward God is telling God you know more than Him, that you are wiser than Him. It also means that something in your life is more important than God, which is the definition of idolatry.

Feeling anger toward God when He allows difficult trials is natural, but it points to a deeper work of brokenness taking place within us. This brokenness can lead us down one of two paths: bitterness or surrender. Choosing bitterness fills our hearts with misery and resentment, distancing us from God. But if we choose surrender, we open ourselves to a life of peace, joy, and growth through His presence.

One of the most frustrating things about life is trying to make sense of its tragedies. Sometimes, we are afforded the supreme luxury of knowing and understanding the "Why." Most of the time, however, we never know the why, at least not in this life. Most of the time, we must simply endure the pain and struggle and have faith and trust in God that He has our best interests in mind (Romans 8:28).

God certainly provides us with strength, peace, and joy as we withstand the carnage of life’s traumas (Isaiah 26:3). That doesn't mean that we've reconciled the matter in our soul, but only that we've decided to trust God. Sometimes, that’s our only choice.

Just like Paul’s thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:1-10), by God not revealing the “why,” God tells us it’s not His will for us to understand the reason, but that we must carry on knowing that “His grace is sufficient for you, for His power is made perfect in weakness” (vs. 9).

Moving On

The first thing you need to know is that God will deliver you (eventually):

When God does deliver you, you will be better:

When He has delivered you and made you better, then He will reward you:

Attempts to find some type of meaning in the tribulation are mostly useless. Who benefits? What was gained? How is this better? There are hundreds of questions we could ask, but we will probably never know the answers.

We must accept our lot in life and move on, believing that one day, God will reveal the answers to our questions. When He does, we will see that God was right there in the middle of it all, orchestrating the best possible results. We must believe that and move on. There are no other choices, only bitterness and misery.

Final Thoughts

I’ve heard so many sermons telling people to “trust God.” I’ve never heard a sermon on how to do that. It’s not like turning on a switch; it’s more like baking a cake. Trusting God is a process that develops in our walk in the Spirit. It comes from trusting God, usually with small things, and building up to larger and larger things. In time, we see the ever faithfulness of God and accept His sovereignty over our lives as part of our spiritual growth.

Trusting God isn't something that happens overnight. It's a journey that unfolds as we step out of our comfort zones and engage with the world around us. It means getting off the sofa, going into the world, and doing things. It means taking risks with your thoughts and feelings. It means facing the perils of relationships, involvement, and connections. It means praying for impossible things and expecting God to answer such prayers and work in your life in these impossible ways. It means accepting that you are a child of God, redeemed, forgiven, and holy because the One who is holy paid the price to make you that way.

God Bless!

Mark