Faith along the way

July 4th was a hard day. HARD. DAY. We have those along the way. We are not promised an easy road, a rosy path, or life without struggles. The day for me began like any other day. I was looking forward to celebrating the holiday with friends. That morning took a different turn, not totally unexpected, but something I dreaded just the same.

The past week I’ve been thinking about hard days. I’ve also been trying to think of the positive things in my life. I’ve worked to be thankful and grateful for the many blessings I have. So many precious people have rallied around me, are praying for me, call and text to check on me. I am thankful for the amazing people God has placed in my life. I have a great support group in my life: my husband, my family, friends, my church, excellent doctors and nurses that God keeps placing in my life. I am blessed.

I’m also deeply grateful for my relationship with my Lord. He is my ultimate strength, my shield, and my portion. I honestly don’t know how I would make it without Him. Thankfully, that will not be an issue, because He promises in His Word that He will never leave me nor forsake me. He is always faithful. Always loves me. Always helps me. This hard day also reminded me that my identity is in Him. My identity is not defined by what I’m going through, what my physical body looks like, or even what anyone says about me. My identity is in Christ. I am a child of the living God, part of His family because of my relationship with the Savior.

I am choosing during this difficult time in my life to look for ways to give God glory, to honor Him, and hopefully encourage someone along the way. I am asking God to increase my faith, to draw me closer to Him, and to be a witness for Him in some way.

Hard days come along. Our Lord Jesus was certainly no stranger to hard times. He made the ultimate sacrifice so that we could have eternal life, if we accept Him as our Lord and Savior. No matter what we go through, we can know that He knows what we are going through. He has been through it all, all for me. All for you.

I don’t know what hard or difficult situation you may be going through, but I hope you find comfort and strength in the Lord as you go through it. I encourage you to be very much in prayer, study and meditate on His Word, and I pray you have people in your life to encourage you.

If you are fortunate enough to not be going through a hard time in your life right now, maybe you can be an encouragement or a prayer warrior for someone who is. We can all use a little help and encouragement along the way.

His blessings to you,

Jackie