Guidance
The Blessing Is On the Other Side
By Laura J. Bagby
CBN.com Sr. Producer
CBN.com –
“You’ve got to push through your trial to get through to your breakthrough.”
Ever heard that? Sounds like a very inspiring sermon, doesn’t it?
You get all stirred up emotionally thinking how if you could just hold on, you would eventually become that beautiful butterfly breaking forth from the confining cocoon in one powerful, acrobatic move. You can't wait to shout, "Yeah, baby, here I am!"
But what you don’t hear in those fervent moments is the fact that when you are faced with those “just push through” moments, you aren’t always going to have the faith to lift up your hands in joyful surrender and boldly shout to your circumstances, “Bring it on!” smiling broadly without a care in the world as you await your Wall of Jericho to fall.
It is so easy to forget this thing called the “testing of your faith”. And that testing means you aren’t always going to handle those dire moments with the kind of grace and power you envision in your mind. Sometimes you behave just the opposite of how you should. You might feel powerless, be grouchy, and—dare I say—languish in a state of faithless.
A couple of weeks ago I shared a story of how God spoke to me specifically about taking a trip to Myrtle Beach to visit my family.
And it was clear that God had a plan and He wanted me on that beach. But, naturally, there would come some kind of unexpected trial.
The day before my trip, news updates kept mentioning the ominous threat of a storm called Gabrielle brewing out in the Atlantic. As the day progressed, with eyes and ears fixed to the Weather Channel, I panicked as I heard meteorologists predict the target region of this storm’s wrath: the shores of North Carolina and ensuing winds, rip currents, and possible floods along the Grand Strand section of South Carolina, off Route 17. Just my lot, I thought. That’s where I am headed.
A heart filled with trepidation and a sense of injustice at the bad timing of this natural catastrophe, I plopped myself in the plush armchair in my coworker Hannah’s office and unloaded my miserable plight, hoping that Hannah would bring her reasonable “it’s going to be OK” speech. Her pep talk abated my fears for a little while.
But the next day, while talking to my roommate about my six-hour drive that morning, I felt myself come unhinged again. My roommate, very much nonplussed, encouraged me to wholeheartedly enjoy my adventure.
Enjoy my adventure—with a tropical storm in full force? Are you kidding?! I thought. I must be crazy driving deliberately into some soon-to-be hurricane. I might not even get to my final destination if they close Route 17 anyway.
But since my parents had already begun their journey to South Carolina and couldn’t be reached by cell phone, I somewhat reluctantly got into my car and began my own trek toward what I considered to be my own death sentence as I was doomed to drive straight through the eye of the storm.
For the first hour or so, I was really jumpy and very angry. I got so frustrated in my spirit that I finally turned my music off and vocalized aloud on Interstate 58 East this prayer to the Lord: “God, You said You wanted me to go on this vacation, so why am I having to deal with this crazy stuff? I don’t understand and I am so stressed out. Could You at least please calm me down? Because the way I see it, You made it clear You had a plan for me to go. So here I am. I need to see Your answer because I am discouraged enough to turn around for safer ground.”
Miraculously, God released me from my near panic attack. He soothed my fears. By the next hour or two, I was starting to enjoy the surprisingly peaceful drive. No wind. No rain. No floods. No sign of a storm anywhere.
When I arrived in North Myrtle Beach that evening, I was welcomed by a tranquil landscape of sun and beach. The weather was so wonderful I couldn’t believe it. My heart was filled with peace. And for the rest of my short stay, the weather was practically picture perfect.
God, you are so good. I should have trusted You more.
It’s moments like this one when I say repeatedly in my spirit, “God, the blessing truly is on the other side.” It might not look too good from where I came from. It might seem scary where I am going. But the truth is, God has nothing but good things in store.
We often can’t see with our natural eyes what God has planned. We don’t realize until we’ve “been there and done that” that what we feared at the onset of our journey was not even true. It was just the devil trying to keep us from something much, much better.
But when we have the eyes of faith, when we trust God with all our hearts, then the curtain of our minds is lifted and we see the truth as it really is: a scene filled with God’s best, and our hearts are at rest.
So, if things don’t look promising today, if everything seems rather stormy in your life, remember that God hasn’t left you. He is right there trying to tell you the rainbow isn’t far away. Just press on through. Your promise is waiting.
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her.
How to Give Your Life to Christ:
1. Admit you are a sinner and need forgiveness.
2. Believe that Jesus Christ died for you on the Cross and
rose from the grave.
3. Through prayer, confess that Jesus Christ is the only
way to God and commit to live for Him for the rest of your
life.
What to Pray:
Dear Lord Jesus,
I know that I am a sinner and need your forgiveness. I believe
that You died on the cross for my sins and rose from the grave
to give me life. I know You are the only way to God so now
I want to quit disobeying You and start living for You. Please
forgive me, change my life and show me how to know You. In
Jesus' name. Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, please send
us an e-mail to let us know. Or you can call our CBN Prayer
Counseling Center at (800) 759-0700. We would love to talk
with you and send you some resources to help you begin your
walk with the Lord.
 Laura J. Bagby produces the Health and Finance channels. She writes inspirational, humor, singles, and health articles.
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