“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
(Romans 8:18 ESV)
“I didn’t know it was going to be this hard.”
Throughout my 20s, there were specific seasons of life when this thought came up for me. It was often in the middle of an unforeseen circumstance: an unwanted transition period, an unexpected change, a sudden loss, or any difficult time of waiting without an answer.
These seasons often felt painful. I knew that in this world, there would be trouble, but I didn’t realize just how close, how devastatingly personal trouble could be. And when it came, it was almost never expected. Nobody warned me of the trouble to come. Nobody could tell me how hard it was going to be, why it happened, and how long it would last.
Trouble came in suddenly, interrupting peace and stability, leaving me feeling unprepared and vulnerable.
I knew God was good no matter what, and I knew He was with me, but in these times, I often could not see where God was leading in it. It felt unfair.
These are the hard things. And I know that you’ve encountered hard things in this life, too.
The truth is that we’ve all been touched by hard moments in this fallen world where sin exists. In fact, we’re told by Jesus Himself that we will have trouble in John 16:33. But in this same verse, He also points us to something greater: “But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
He points us to Himself.
When we look at the gospel, we see that God is a God of redemption. The truth is that God can use the hard things in our lives to refine us, soften our hearts, and to direct our gaze back on Him. The very things that seem unredeemable can be redeemed in Christ. God can use these very things to transform and sanctify us — perfecting us — to look more like His Son, Jesus Christ.
Yet one of the biggest lies the enemy uses to discourage us is that God is passive, mean, and unloving in the midst of hard moments we may face.
But remember this: God does not cause evil and suffering. He is not cruel, or the author of confusion. John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” The reality is that there is a real spiritual battle: Sin causes destruction and suffering, and Satan is the enemy who tries to steal, kill, and destroy what he can on earth. Jesus came to save us from our sin and give life; He has the victory, and He will prevail.
Let’s be reminded of the gospel message:
We know that this world has fallen, when sin entered in through Adam’s disobedience. And now, by nature, we’re all born as sinners; Romans 3:23 tell us that we’ve “all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” We were on our way to condemnation, forever separated from the loving Creator who gave us life.
But the story didn’t end there. Because of His love, the “hard things” don’t have to simply remain unredeemable. We don’t have to remain stuck in our sin without any solution or hope; God provided a way out by giving Himself through Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins. This was the greatest sacrifice — the greatest act of love and redemption.
Jesus Christ suffered on the cross to redeem us, and the story still didn’t end there.
He was raised from the dead, conquering sin and death once and for all, paying the ultimate price in order for us to have eternal life. We all have an opportunity to be made right with God by coming to Christ — believing in His sacrifice and acknowledging Him as Lord and Savior in order to be saved: “Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” (Romans 10:9-10). Our sins are then wiped clean, and we are reconciled with our Heavenly Father and will spend eternity with Him. A relationship that was once lost and broken is made right.
And so, when we consider what Jesus did whenever we face hard circumstances in life, we can be reminded that if we are in Christ, the story never ends in destruction.
I don’t know what you’re facing or what trouble is ahead, but I know that if you’ve given your life to Jesus Christ, your story doesn’t end in despair. The big picture is that eternity is coming. All things will be made right. There will be a day of rejoicing where there is no sin. According to Revelation 21:4, every single tear will be wiped away, and there will no longer be death, mourning, crying, or pain. But while we’re on earth, in these hard moments right here, right now, the truth is that in Christ, the story never ends in purposeless, senseless, and unredeemable things.
Romans 8:28 states a beautiful promise: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Take a moment to meditate on this: God will use all things — every single thing — for your good. There is nothing that He can’t use for your good. This does not mean all things are good or will be good, but everything, whether good or bad, God is able to use for a purpose.
The hard things are not going to just sit in your story as unfair moments. I don’t think this means you will fully understand everything. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) — that is the heavy, serious cost of sin. And we see it every day. We’ve all been touched by it in some way. We’ve seen worldwide events. We’ve been impacted by difficult moments. Hard things outside of our control occur every day. Sin broke everything, so, I believe most moments in our human experience won’t make sense.
But because of Christ, broken things don’t remain broken. Again, out of love, God didn’t let the story end there. We’ve all sinned and had a price to pay, but instead of us paying for it ourselves, Christ did. And so, you can trust the character of God in everything. He is not a God who sits passively and watches with indifference as you navigate this life. He is a God of compassion and love who is active, sovereign, and whose heart is for you. He’s a caring Father who has a plan to redeem this entire earth.
Believer, don’t sit in despair thinking, this is where it ends, because it isn’t. It never ends here.
What you see right now is not the full story.
You serve a God of redemption, and I’m not saying the outcome will look exactly the way you hope it will look, and the good news is that it doesn’t have to; according to God’s Word, He does more than you can ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). God’s outcome is better than your best outcome. The way God works things out is better than your way and beyond your understanding. I’ve seen it, too.
I can tell you what God has done with the hard things in my life:
In hard things, God has given me proper perspective. He has shown me that I am not God. I do not know everything, and I cannot figure everything out on my own. He sees the bigger picture, and I trust His perspective over my limited one.
In hard things, He has saved me from things that would’ve been terrible (with a capital T!) for me, even though I thought they were good.
In hard things, God has shown me that He is good. He has shown me His faithfulness. He has come to the rescue.
In hard things, God has provided things I had no idea even existed.
In hard things, my faith has been tested and refined, coming out stronger than before.
In hard things, I have learned joy. I am at peace and have a joy that is built on a foundation that can never change, because it starts with Him.
In hard things, I have learned that my response is a testimony — that I can point others to Jesus based on how I respond through my actions and words to life. Your current circumstances are the perfect opportunity to tell others about Jesus.
In hard things, I have learned not to rely on outer appearance, earthly stability, money, and people the way I should rely on God.
In hard things, I have learned to rely on the one stable foundation, which is God. The hard moments expose idols, weaknesses, habits, and thoughts that we need to part ways with. I have learned to rely on the God of the universe.
God has healed me in hard things. God has matured me in hard things. God has aligned my heart with His in hard things. I have found peace, not when things were easy, but when things were hard, because I was brought to my Savior. So, I’m telling you, this hard thing you may be facing does not end here. This is not the end of you.
There is a beautiful irony in all of this. God can use hard things for something good. And we see this endlessly throughout Scripture:
God gave Abraham and Sarah a son through whom Abraham would be a father of many nations, as He promised (Genesis 21). They were both in their old age, and Sarah was barren. It seemed foolish and impossible, yet God made it possible.
God rescued Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego while they were inside of a fiery furnace that should have destroyed them (Daniel 3). He even joined them in the fire, and they survived and were set free.
God used a much smaller army of 300 men led by Gideon to defeat the Midianites, who had a massive army of 135,000 men. Even though Gideon originally had a larger army (32,000), which was still significantly smaller than the Midianites, God had him reduce the number of men fighting just so the Israelites could see that it was God alone who they could rely on and would give them victory (Judges 7).
Paul wrote many times how his many sufferings were for good and would bring God glory. And look at the immeasurable impact his writings and his life has had on the Church for centuries — just because of his obedience and boldness for Christ, even in difficult, painful trials.
Christ defeated death by dying. Out of death came life. He used the enemy’s own weapon against him to win the battle. The gospel message itself is a beautiful irony that would seem foolish to the world.
Let this sink in:
God can use the worst things to create something unimaginably good.
For me, I know that some of the best and most valuable things came out of hard moments in my life. Hard things! Not easy things. How is it that somehow, in the midst of hard things that I came to know who God is?
If you’re in the middle of a circumstance you didn’t want, know that this is the beginning of God doing a work. Remember that Romans 8:28 promises that He works all things for good, so He is quite literally working it out right now, whether you see it now or later. He is using it for good; don’t lose sight of this. The enemy wants you to lose hope in order to derail your course. But don’t stop trusting in God just when you’re in the middle — perhaps even the beginning — of the story.
This might be bigger than you, but you have a God who is much bigger than that big thing. God uses hard things. This is not a waste. It doesn’t stay in your story as a hopeless, unless chapter; you are not stuck. God provides a way out. So, surrender to Him; submit to His ways. Make it your mission to honor Him in this.
I want to leave you with some reminders to hold onto:
1) Don’t run away. If you run away, it’s going to get harder, but if you come running to the Lord, He will fully embrace you and give you rest. Consider the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), where the father waits patiently for his lost son to come home and then comes running the moment he sees him. Your Heavenly father is waiting. Sit at His feet, and learn how to trust God in a hard thing. I promise you, He’s providing a way out even when you can’t see it. You’re not supposed to figure it out on your own.
2) You don’t need to know the future. As human beings, we will never know the future. Don’t idolize your way of doing things. Submit to God’s way of doing things, learn His Word, get to know His character, and be covered in prayer.
3) Change your first response. Start to rely on God’s character even if you don’t see the good yet. Find a way to use your story to point others to the One who loves them. Show them how you are honoring Him, even now.
This story does not end here — repeat it to yourself if you have to.
I know God can do more than you can ask or think. The hard moments mean it’s time to trust Him deeper. It’s time to put those Scriptures to the test and apply them to your life. Hold onto them as a promise. These are not just words on a page. This is God’s Word, which is alive and active, and holds the truth.
Let God use your hard thing.
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
(Romans 8:28 ESV)
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