Lord, How Am I Ever Going to Get Through This?

Scripture: Lamentations 3:20-26

At some point, everybody will go through grief and loss. And, boy, does it hurt! 

When we go through a heartbreaking event – whether it’s the death of a treasured loved one, a divorce, disability, health issues, adultery, family conflict, financial difficulties, or anything else that crushes our hearts – it can truly feel defeating. 

My family and I have been through a lot of grief. Within the last two years, we experienced my sibling having a stroke and then a heart attack, multiple family members battling cancer, the deaths of my dad and five other family members within months of each other, and myself having a stroke due to a wrongfully prescribed medication. I also was referred to an oncologist after getting a PET scan and had two major surgeries. I also experienced two very deep betrayals. 

To say my family and I felt heartbroken and defeated is an understatement. 

What do we do when life comes punching? When we feel knocked down as if our very breath got knocked out of us? What if we become disillusioned or upset with God? 

If you’re feeling heartbroken, defeated, frustrated, angry at life, or upset with God, this reading plan will deeply encourage your weary heart. 

God has taught me so many valuable lessons during this very trying time. And my heart was recently able to thank God for all He has shown me. 

It was NOT easy coming to that place, but I am so very grateful I trusted God’s heart when I couldn’t understand His plans. 

What heartbreaking situation are you going through today? Are you ready to allow God to comfort and guide your heart during this difficult time in your life? 

Join me for the next five days as I share some of the life-changing insights God has shown me. 

You’re going to make it through this terrible, heartbreaking time. With God’s love, encouragement, and help, it’s guaranteed!

Scriptures: Psalms 22:24, Psalms 34:18

When going through grief, life challenges, or loss, it can feel very isolating, lonely, and confusing. You may feel a myriad of emotions…you may even have questions…and that is totally ok! 

Questions may come to mind, such as: 

“Lord, how am I ever going to get through this?” 

“Does God care about – and will He redeem – what I’m going through?” 

“Why did God allow this to happen?” 

“Will I ever feel joy again?” 

These questions are very good questions…and completely normal. 

As I’ve walked through intense grief, especially over the past two years, these questions (and more) have crossed my mind, too. 

This special reading plan is going to answer each of these questions. I am beyond excited to share with you some of the treasures God has gifted me with throughout my most challenging times. These special treasures are very expensive; they come at a high personal price. I pray they’ll bless and encourage your heart! 

Before we tackle each of these important questions, I’m going to share a few special Bible verses to encourage and hug your heart. As you read each Bible verse, truly ponder in your heart how much God loves you…what He wants to share with your heart through what you’re going through…and His absolute faithfulness and desire to carry you through each and every day. 

You, as well as your heartache, are so very precious to our Heavenly Father. I’m looking forward to this special time together as we search for (and find) God’s heart, as well as His comfort, compassion, love, and healing.

Scriptures: Psalms 147:3, 1 Peter 5:6-7, Deuteronomy 31:8

I learned through my grief a few extremely vital answers to the questions I shared in yesterday’s reading. 

Today’s question we’ll be discussing is, “How am I ever going to get through this?” 

With God’s help, we can get through terribly tough times. 

I don’t see how anyone gets through grief, heartache, or loss without God. There have been many times throughout my life when I wondered if it was even possible to get through an enormously tough time. 

I’ve been through over 50 major grief experiences in life…and God has a 100% track record of bringing me through each and every one of them. 

God will never leave us or forsake us. He isn’t fickle. He never quits on us. He’ll never give up on us, and He will walk with us daily and be there for the long haul. We will never find anyone who loves us more…who is more invested in healing our hearts…who is more faithful…who cares more about us. We’ll never find a more faithful and closer Friend than God. 

Alone, we do not have any hope of genuinely getting through our toughest, most heartbreaking days—but with God, we absolutely will get through them. 100%! 

Even if it doesn’t presently feel like you’ll have the ability to get through what you’re going through when you place your grief, life, and heart in God’s more than capable hands, you are guaranteed to not only get through your hardest days; God promises to redeem your heartache. We CAN trust Him and His amazing heart!

Scriptures: Psalms 56:8, Psalms 34:18, Ephesians 3:20

When going through a heartbreaking time, many will ask: “Does God care about – and will He redeem – what I’m going through?” 

God ABSOLUTELY cares about what we go through in life. He is extremely close to the brokenhearted, and He is faithful in redeeming every single heartbreak we go through. 

There are so many valuable promises in God’s Word for those who experience heartache and grief…so many that I could write an entirely other reading plan on that topic alone. 

One of my favorite verses God showed me during a time of great heartache was Psalm 56:8. In this verse, God shares a great treasure: He cares so much about our heartache that He not only collects each and every tear we cry—He also writes down each and every heartache we experience throughout life. Imagine and ponder how powerful of a promise God gifts us in Psalm 56:8. The Creator of the entire universe—the Creator of everyone and everything ever created—He cares so intensely about our pain that He collects our teardrops and writes of our heartache in His very own book! If that doesn’t make us feel deeply loved, cared for, and treasured, I don’t know what will. It’s an incredible truth to ponder! 

If Father God cares that much about our pain, we 100% can trust He has a great purpose for our heartache that we cannot currently fathom. 

If you want an in-depth understanding of how God is going to redeem our heartache, I wholeheartedly recommend reading through the entire Bible with the exclusive goal of understanding God’s purpose for loss, pain, grief, disappointment, and trials. I recently did this, and I’ll never view grief, loss, life challenges, or heartache the same. The Bible is packed with treasures and important promises. 

God not only deeply cares about what we’re going through, but He will be redeeming all of it in ways we may not be able to presently ask, think, or imagine. Some of that redemption will have an important purpose and lasting impact for even Heaven. 

Our job is to trust God’s heart, redemptive plans, and character. 

We may be in the worst chapter of our lives, but God isn’t through with us yet. He is not anywhere done with writing the rest of our life’s book. Today, let’s give Him complete access to our heart, life, life purpose, and future. Let’s place the pen back into His hand and allow Him to write – and redeem – the rest of the story.

Scriptures: Lamentations 3:31-33, John 13:7, Isaiah 40:31, Psalms 40:1-3

As a grief coach, the following question is one I am asked more than any other: “Why did God allow this?” 

Oh, what a tough question! 
I remember asking God this very question as tears streamed down my face. 

Did you know God welcomes our tough questions? Many times, it’s our toughest questions that will create a bridge from our heart to Father God’s heart…and this bridge has the ability to take us from horrible pain to deep purpose and joy. 

To be clear, God is God, and we are not. God loves us enough to allow us to respectfully ask Him our most heartbreaking, gut-wrenching questions, though. He lovingly cares about us and welcomes us to run to His heart. 

It is so important to realize God NEVER wastes our grief. He has a purpose for our pain. This isn’t the same as saying, “There’s a reason for everything,” and it doesn’t mean we won’t experience incredibly hard emotions. It also won’t make our journey easier. Our pain can actually have a purpose here on earth…but, more importantly, every heartbreaking and hard situation we go through now… has a purpose for eternity. 

Sometimes, we go through heartbreaking life events due to poor decisions. Sometimes, it’s due to other people’s wrong decisions. Other times, it’s due to “life,” such as the death of a loved one. Sometimes, God allows us to go through a hard time. He doesn’t willingly bring grief to anyone, but if there’s a redemptive plan, He will allow it. 

A few biblical examples: 

King David – David willingly sinned with Bathsheba. As a result of that sin, David went through intense heartache and grief. Sometimes, we go through horrifically painful heartache due to our own choices (or the decisions of others). 

Mary (mother of Jesus) – Mary experienced horribly painful grief. She didn’t do anything wrong, yet she experienced her son’s murder. God’s plan (at the time) probably provided very little comfort or relief…Mary wouldn’t fully understand until later. 

Job – Job was a completely righteous man…yet it was God who asked Satan to consider Job. This is tough to comprehend, but we will experience tough times like Job. There are tough times when we will have no other way to refine us, prune our hearts, or see what we’re spiritually made of—what is TRULY inside us. Our character is revealed, at times, through major testing. 

These are just a few examples, yet God redeemed each of these situations for King David, Mary, Jesus, and Job. 

God’s plans are so much higher than our plans. We look at the “here and now”—God looks at (and plans for) eternity. Everything we go through has eternal value. It’s so incredibly important to understand this…especially while walking through pain…because souls can be at stake. 

When my Dad died of cancer, I was beyond grieved, hurt, and broken. I’ll be honest—even angry. I couldn’t think of anyone more eligible for a miracle. I fully believed God would favorably answer my prayers, pleas for help, and heartbreaking cries for healing. I watched my Dad battle stage 4c cancer for 11 months. It was absolutely gut-wrenching. Three weeks after my Dad died, my Mom broke both of her ankles at the cemetery. The next month, my mom’s lifelong best friend died. A few months later, my aunt died. A month after that, my other aunt died. 

I couldn’t understand why God would allow so much suffering. 

Then God began showing how He was redeeming these terrible situations. 

My uncle, who would die a few months later, had been to each funeral and heard the plan of salvation at each funeral. As a result, he was saved right before he died. More redemption came as our family (our entire family) drew closer together through our intense grief. 

Sometimes, God will answer our question of, “Why was this allowed to happen?” and other times, we will find out in eternity. 

One thing is certain: God is in control, and if we knew all the facts, we’d wholeheartedly love, trust, cooperate, and fully follow Him. 

He will be making up for all we go through because His heart is for us!

Scriptures: Psalms 40:5, Romans 8:17-18, Isaiah 55:8-9, Romans 8:28, Revelation 21:4, Matthew 11:28-30, Isaiah 35:10, John 16:22, 1 Peter 5:6-7

Joy – and this seems so counterintuitive – is a direct gift from God as a result of grief. 

The greater the grief, the greater the capacity to hold joy—and God has huge plans for anyone who experiences grief! 

There is a distinct difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is dependent on feelings and circumstances; joy is completely based on God, His promises, and our relationship with Him. 

God doesn’t give joy in the same way we expect. God provides a deeper joy than we can imagine. I can’t even fathom what God has in store for all who go through hard and heartbreaking situations yet remain loyal to Him. We have a lot to look forward to! 

The trials, grief, loss, and heartache…none of it can compare to the treasure God has in store for us in eternity. 

Let‘s make a commitment to seek God more than anyone or anything else…to extravagantly love God throughout our entire life — especially during life’s storms…and to trust Him to make Romans 8:28 come to life in rich, personal experience. 

No matter what we go through, may we always say: 

“Lord, with You, I will always get through whatever I am going through because of Your deep love, care, comfort, compassion, and kindness towards me!” 

God loves you so very much! 

Thank you for allowing me to encourage your heart. Always remember how much God cares for you! Spend daily time with God by reading His Word, praying, and praising Him. He values you so much, and He is faithful in carrying you through.