SOMETIMES, THE ONLY WAY OUT IS THROUGH.
I know.. it’s not what any of us really want to hear, is it? That sometimes there’s not a quick fix to what’s ailing our souls. If you’re anything like me, you’ve faced some challenges in life.. some things that have fought hard to take the breath from your lungs (literally and/or metaphorically); and yet, you’re still here. Breathing.
My normal go-to coping mechanism when these things happen is to muster up every bit of stubbornness I can manage to avoid the looming problem.. act like I’m strong enough to carry the pain, the loss, the heartache on my own. After all, I’m a strong, independent woman. God’s got me. And I’ve got me. What else do I need? He can perform miracles (He really can, and He really does), so I’ll just keep praying for my Red Sea to open before me cos that’s the kind of God He is. But what happens when those prayers seemingly go unanswered? When you’ve prayed, fasted & believed, and yet, your Red Sea is still before you. The problem/challenge/issue hasn’t gone away. What then? Has God forgotten us or abandoned us to figure things out on our own?
Although I’ve definitely had times where I felt like He was unmoved by my desperate cries, I’m slowly realising that He’s much bigger than the one way I can conceive Him delivering me from my fears. Often times, I can only see my Mount Everest-sized obstacle going away if He removes it completely, so I pray to that end. And while there is absolutely nothing wrong with asking and believing for miracles (nay, we must never, ever stop believing for and praying for these), I’m learning that regardless of deliverance coming my way, I must surrender my will to His—because His will really is good and perfect. And He really has worked it out, especially when I cannot see it. And the sooner I quit fighting that truth, the quicker I can be a recipient of His grace. His grace is, after all, sufficient for me.
More often than not, I only see two options: 1.) deliverance how I imagine it to be or 2.) my own demise. But wouldn’t you know He’s the God of the third option. And often, with the third option, God graciously allows me to experience yet another aspect of His character and goodness that, until now, I’ve yet to know—an unwavering faithfulness that extends itself beyond the familiar Red-Sea-Parter and Omnipotent Mountain-Mover He’s proven Himself to be and brings me face-to-face with the weathered, worn and trusted face of the noblest and most skillful of climbing partners—the God Who Takes Me Through. He takes me gently by the hand and leads me straight toward what I’ve feared most. And with tears streaming down my face, I ask Him, “But God, why?” and with the safest love I’ve ever known, He stares into the trembling spaces of my soul and whispers,
“Because you must face this fear but not alone. I love you too much to let this pain have the final say; but the more you avoid it, the more you let it take up the valuable places hidden in the recesses of your mind. It’s time to move through the storm, across the mountain, to where I’ve called you on the other side.” “But God, can’t you simply lead me around? Remove the obstacle, take away the pain?” “Yes, I am the God of miracles, there’s nothing I cannot do. But sometimes, the only way out is through.”
And with that, I surrender that which I’ve desperately fought to hold onto: my sense of control. I never really had control to begin with.. I was trying to control the outcomes of the obstacle, but that power was never really mine. My Climbing Partner had always been close, I just had to look up long enough to realise I was never alone with my problem. He was always there, patiently waiting for me to let Him show me the way forward. Had He taken my challenge away in the way I preferred, I never would have learned what it’s like to scale the heights with Him. What it’s like to know His steady hand IN the storm. What it’s like to live knowing His yoke is easy, and His burden is light.
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
There’s a message I heard recently that is now on repeat for me because I needed to hear it more than once. The wisdom and the profound insight were what my spirit needed, so much so that I know I’m not the only one. Sometimes all we need is for someone to put courage into our souls. This message did that for me. And it taught me even more about the God who was always going to take us through; He just maybe took a different path than we were expecting. Dr. Dharius Daniels says it way better than I ever will, so please have a look and a listen to the message below, “I Didn’t See That Coming”. And remember—sometimes the only way out is THROUGH.