“Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.” Hebrews 10:36 NLT
Life can be hard. True? There have been times when my life seemed so incredibly difficult that I could only handle one moment at a time. Perhaps you’ve been there. I call managing those moments “survival mode.”
In survival mode, you do the needed tasks but have nothing left for the extras. You focus on getting through the present but have no energy left to imagine the future. Perhaps your hopes have been decimated. I’ve been there. Imagining a different future is not possible while you process that pain. Survival mode gets you through.
But it is in survival mode that you begin to truly understand “Apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) It is in survival mode that you experience the truth “He is near to the broken-hearted.” (Psalm 34:18) It is in survival mode that you find strength in the “everlasting arms.” (Deut. 33:27)
Through every survival mode season, there are some things I have found to be true. Here is some hope for your current or upcoming survival mode.
God is using survival mode for your good. Current pain can blind us to the current positives. It can be hard to see beyond how hard it is now. But please, Dear Friend, remember that God is good and only does good. There have been moments when all I could do was remind myself of God’s good character. I couldn’t see the situation as good. I didn’t feel good. But because God is good, I chose to believe He was at work for my good.
That is true for you as well. Feelings are not good forecasters.
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