When Life Feels Hard | And Again I Say To You | Abbey Frazier

And I know that on that day long ago when it looked like darkness should have won, heaven just started counting to three because God's son was in that grave and he was coming back again. See, God won't waste anything. Not a wait, not one moment of pain, not a heartache, or time of suffering. The question is, will you choose to trust him too? [00:57:49] (33 seconds)  #GodWontWasteIt

See, I love how the text ends by giving us a call to remember. Because sometimes when hardships come, we can get a spiritual amnesia where we forget all the times that God has come through, where we forget all the times that God has been good, where we forget all the times he has been faithful to us. But we are called to place a stake in our ground when it comes to our faith and to remember to turn up his voice above all the others, to meditate and understand his word, and to trust that no matter the season, ours is a God who won't waste any of it. [01:01:53] (44 seconds)  #RememberHisFaithfulness

They have to fight off pests trying to steal and destroy what they're creating. For some of them, they have to endure these really bad seasons of weather that's truly just outside of their control. And most often, farmers have to trust that growth is happening even in the times they cannot see. See, a farmer has to know that just because they should receive something doesn't mean they always do. But here's the beautiful thing about that word should. It's that I know someone who should have left me dead in my sin, but he never did. I know someone who should have picked anyone else besides me, but he chose me instead. [00:57:00] (49 seconds)  #ChosenNotForsaken

Hear me today, new hope. You are already approved by God. So how are you stewarding what it is that God has entrusted to you today? Live for the approval of the one who matters the most and it's God. But you see, that's not all. The passage continues on and it says, in addition to the soldier, that similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor's crown except by competing according to the rules. You see, Paul spoke about an athlete because he knew the people in that day could fully relate to that subject. [00:48:55] (38 seconds)  #ApprovedByGod

See, for a soldier, their commanding officer's voice had to be above all the others. And that makes me wonder whose voice is that for you today? Whose voice is louder than all the other voices in your life? Is it Jesus or is it your boss? Or maybe is it something more abstract like anxiety or all the milestones your kids must achieve in order to be successful? What voice is the loudest one in your life today? Because for a soldier, there's how to be their commanding officer. [00:46:37] (36 seconds)  #WhoseVoiceIsLoudest

And you see, as seasons change, you might need to adjust your playbook too. Maybe for you, you're a brand new parent and you're just beating yourself up because you're not sitting in the word of God like you used to. Change your playbook. Ask yourself, are you reading just to do or are you reading to dwell? Maybe for you, if you're that new parent, it looks like just reading one chapter or sitting with one verse or maybe playing a worship song as you endure another night shift. See, like an athlete can't win without competing according to the rules, so too can we not escape the changing seasons and hardships of our life. But where we fix our focus is important. [00:54:19] (46 seconds)  #AdaptYourPlaybook

Now, there's two things in that passage that I don't want us to miss. One, the text literally said, join with me in suffering. Other translations say, share with me in suffering. And I don't know about you, but there's a part of my heart that just kinda wants to go, no, thank you, because I don't enjoy going through hardship. But you see, what the scripture wants us to know is that suffering is just a part of life. The bible says that it rains on the just and the unjust. Sometimes hardships are simply going to happen, but it's what we do in response to it that matters the most. [00:43:49] (38 seconds)  #ShareInSuffering

But you see, this is why I'm so thankful for our senior pastor who last Sunday, he said this great thing. He says, when we read the word of God, it reads us. And when I sit under the scriptures, I can't help but make it my daily bread. So that when I'm going through something and I'm in a time of need, I can tell myself, wait a second, I know the God of Psalm 37, the one who says, I have been young and I have been old, yet I've never seen the righteous forsaken nor his children begging for bread. God is gonna provide you with what you need. [00:52:03] (33 seconds)  #TheWordReadsUs