Driving. I do a lot of it. I do so much of it every day, every week, that I think I have become one with the car.
There is the start and the destination, maybe some stops before the destination. Start the ignition and drive from one point to another. There’s a four-way stop. Halt, wait my turn, and then I go.
I keep driving in my lane, trying to observe the speed limits, and then get to traffic lights. Red is angst, the dreaded stop.
Red lights—they take longer and show up more often, especially when I am in a hurry, and whether it’s rush hour or 4am in the morning, the haughty red light beams down as if to say, ‘Stop, I mean STOP! The green light is pure magic—go, go, go.
When Life Feels Stuck and Faith Feels Distant
Months ago, I agreed to write this article on this topic. To offer encouragement to moms to keep going, press on, and fulfill their purpose, to fulfill their dreams.
Funny how life works sometimes. The very thing that I wanted to encourage others about is the very same thing I’ve been wrestling with.
As we ‘mature,’ time seems to move faster. Suddenly, all those years you thought you had to do all the things don’t seem to be there anymore.
At this point in your life, past your twenties and thirties and well into your forties, fifties, and beyond, you feel that by now you should have figured yourself out, your path and your purpose.
You should have a fulfilling career, financial stability, a sense of clarity on where you are headed, and the means to do some of the things you would like to do.
Add to that, your spiritual life should be consistent, steady, and strong. You know God is good, and therefore, by this point, you should just be able to stand on His Word, trust His promise, and live in victory.
Then life happens. The degree you obtained in school leads you to a career that you don’t find fulfilling. An unexpected diagnosis halts you in your tracks, and you spend many days and nights turning to years seeking medical help.
You lose your job, You stop working for a while to raise your kids, and months turn into years, and before you know it, you don’t even know where or how to start working again.
You spend your days encouraging all those around you to never give up, keep pressing on, and pursue their dreams. You look around, and your peers are successful, established, and thriving, or so it seems.
All the while, you are consumed by regret, doubt, fear, and hopelessness. Fear that you missed the opportunities, missed the mark. It’s too late; it’s over. Failed.
Finding Hope Again When It Feels Like God Is Silent
But is it over for us? Before we answer, let’s take the cue from King David in Psalms 42:5:
Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
Psalms 42:5 (KJV)
Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again—my Savior and my God! (New Living Translation)
David quieted himself by reminding himself where to turn his hope, to God. The God of the universe, the Author and Finisher of our faith, our Maker, the Lord God Almighty.
What David did, we must do too. Train our hearts and minds to go back to the One who knows the end from the beginning. Again and again and again. Our life may not be what we thought, but if we seek Him, our lives will be worth living.
Life is a lot like driving. Sometimes we have green lights and clear lanes, and we can go, go, go. At times, it’s stop-and-go traffic with lots of red lights and lots of stops. Sometimes, it’s gridlock. You’re stuck for what seems like forever.
Stops in life don’t mean it’s the end.
As long as we are breathing, God has us on a journey, with twists and turns, stop and go, yield, brake, and accelerate. We must remind ourselves that He does know how it all works out, detours included.
He has never failed, never had an unfinished task or a believer he did not lead home. He promised to watch over and help us. He will not fail. He cannot go back on His Word.
So, we must do whatever it takes. Cry, crawl, fight, sing, whatever it takes and as many times as it takes to turn our hope to the Lord. He will take care of the rest.
Just because we can’t see what He is doing, does not mean we have failed or He’s forgotten about us.
Why would you ever complain, O Jacob,
or, whine, Israel, saying,
“God has lost track of me.
He doesn’t care what happens to me”?
Don’t you know anything? Haven’t you been listening?
God doesn’t come and go. God lasts.
He’s the Creator of all you can see or imagine.
He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath.
And he knows everything, inside and out.
His plans for us, for you, and for me are good
Isaiah 40:27-28 (MSG)