In the middle of a pandemic, over six months, our family experienced losses in ways we never had before.
Unexpected relationship issues arose outside the family that hurt us deeply and caused division. A business deal went wrong, so we had to employ an attorney. Issues came up in our church, and we made the tough decision to leave this church family we had grown to love. My husband also lost his job.
As time unraveled and our hearts healed from the pain, we saw these situations as opportunities. God was giving us a clean slate, and hard lessons learned helped us attain this. We looked forward to the good God had in store for us that He would bring out of the next hardships we would endure.
Sometimes, God has to change situations so He can transform us, even if it means working against our expectations. When we experience regression in an area of our lives that once thrived, or distress where there was vibrant life, we can trust God to take a dry tree and make it flourish. When we feel knocked down, we can remember God is the lifter of the lowly. We are valuable to Him. He wants an ideal future for us, so He will do whatever is necessary to get us there. He wants to advance us because we are His. God is in the business of recovering, rebuilding, refurbishing, rehabilitating, and reviving our souls.
In your season of unexpected loss, my prayer for you is that God will help you expect there is something good waiting down the road, you will realize these trials will eventually come to an end, you will gain God’s perspective of what happened so you can understand better how to perceive, react, and respond to each situation, He will fill you to the brim with His joy and perfect peace, and the power of His Spirit will surround you so you can receive the strength to heal and move forward.
Let God teach you how to overcome trials His way.
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Brandie is an award-winning author, speaker, and devotional writer. Her most notable work is a children’s book, Garden Tales: A Seed’s Story. She is a contributing devotional writer for Christian Devotions and VineWords: Devotions and More. Brandie is the founder of The Write Place and president of the Charlotte Word Weavers chapter. She is also a member of Hope* Writers and the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators. She and her husband have been married for over fifteen years and live in North Carolina with their three young children, two of whom are Irish Twins. They spend a lot of time on baseball fields and at horse stables and enjoy playing games. They also enjoy family trips where they can bike ride on the beach or explore the mountains.