5 Unexpected Things God Is Doing When You Are Suffering
The maples tower grey and unclothed in the valley behind the house. This place looks nothing like the lush sanctuary that enveloped me in its arms two months ago. It’s surprising how your world can flip upside down in what feels like a breath, especially when you are suffering.
This season has not come easily here. It has not met our expectations.
Some of our dreams have come to life, and some have fallen apart.
It’s not always easy to sense God’s presence when you are suffering. But faith isn’t about feeling; it’s about believing what we cannot see.
I wonder if you’ve walked through a similar season of your own. Maybe it was a long time ago, or you might be on the brink of a surprisingly long winter right now. Maybe this makes you think about a season when it seemed God went quiet. When you needed him more than ever, it felt like he up and left the building.
I get it.
I get it because I’ve walked through a few of these seasons. Some came because I was choosing to chase sin instead of walking with God; however, others happened through no fault of my own. Things got tough, and the God who was supposed to be my Comforter felt more distant than ever.
Hope for When You Are Suffering
If this is you, hold onto hope. Choose to stand on the truth and not your feelings. God hasn’t left you. He promised to be with you always (Deut. 31:6). He promised that nothing can ever take his love from you (Romans 8:38-39). If you need some truth to hold onto this season, here are five things God is doing in your darkest hours:
1. When you are suffering, God is singing over you.
What is God doing when you lie awake on your sickbed? Where is he when you’re sitting in that cubicle wondering if you’re wasting your life? What’s he doing when the walls start closing in and you’re not sure you can take another day, when the baby cries for the 19th time of the night, or when life falls to pieces and you can’t even find the strength to gather it all up again?
Dear friend, hold onto this truth: God delights in you. He has not left you; he sings over you in your darkest hour (Zephaniah 3:17).
2. When you are suffering, God is looking for a way to woo you.
No passage of Scripture stirs my heart more than the words of Hosea 2:14. After warning his people to turn away from their sins, God speaks these words through the prophet Hosea: “Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her.” God is looking for a way to allure you – to woo you – and draw you to himself. He is pursuing you.
If this broken world makes you feel like this is untrue for you, stand on the truth of the unchanging character of our God. The same God who allured his people thousands of years ago is alluring you through these words at this very moment.
3. God weeps with you when you suffer.
When Jesus died on the cross, he did more than take the punishment for our sins. He also carried our sorrows. He experienced the weight of the sorrows of the world. He not only counts our tears in a bottle, but he also weeps with us.
We see this compassionate spirit as Jesus weeps with Martha and Mary after the death of Lazarus in John 11. God’s compassion stirs his heart for you, and no tear goes unnoticed. Jesus is not far off in the midst of your pain; he weeps with those who mourn.
Jesus is not far off in the midst of your pain; he weeps with those who mourn. #suffering #Jesuswept #trials #struggles #encounteringGod Click To Tweet4. God is providing for you.
Even if you cannot see it now, God is making provisions for you. Our idea of provision does not always match God’s idea, but he promises to give us all we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). If you don’t feel or see his provision today, make the declaration, by faith, to believe God will withhold no good thing from you (see Psalm 84:11).
5. God is filling your cup while you suffer.
I’ve always been intrigued by the second part of Psalm 23. When we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, it’s hard to see how God is simultaneously preparing a table before us and filling us to overflowing. When the valley is dark and the wellspring seems dry, it doesn’t feel like anything in the world is overflowing.
Trust in the promise that God is transforming you into the image of Christ as you walk through this valley. He is filling you to overflowing because when you emerge from this fiery trial, you will look more like Jesus. Looking more like Jesus will change the world around you.
For the first time in my life, I cannot wait for the season to change to winter this year. God is doing a new thing, and it remains hidden for now, but when it springs up we’ll all say it was well worth the wait.
A Free Resource to Comfort You When You’re Suffering:
Today, I invite you to let Jesus hold you as he begins healing your heart in this difficult time. For a limited time, I’m offering a free chapter from my book, Lean Into Grace. The title of this chapter is “Crying in the Bathroom,” and it will help you experience God’s tender comfort when life is hard. Download this chapter right here today with promo code GRACE. God is waiting to hold you in his arms and heal your heart. 
Calling All Moms and Daughters!
Additionally, my 12-year-old daughter, Bekah, and I wrote a mother-daughter devotional book to help mothers and daughters grow closer together while connecting with God. Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith includes 60 devotions with Scripture, commentaries from both of us, conversation starters, and even a shared journaling section. Multitudes of mothers, daughters, mentors, and younger women are being transformed by this book! You can find this book in eBook form for free on the Kindle Unlimited Plan or buy a print copy for 11.99 right here.
