How to Rejoice When We Face the Hard Stuff

I distinctly remember the feeling in my chest.

This is what it feels like to not know what to pray; this is what it feels like for your heart to speak and for the Spirit to intercede (Romans 8:26).

It was a feeling of confusion, pain, desperation, and yet hope He would be there.

My husband had just been told that he wasn’t supported by our pastor in following God’s will by returning to school and that in order to follow God’s will he would have to walk away from our church, where he was employed.

I was heart broken.

I couldn’t get a grasp on my feelings. All I could do was groan my prayers through tears. It was in those moments of weeping and praying that God showed me that He is still good even when life seems bad. The word “rejoice” kept popping into my mind.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

“ Rejoice always! Pray constantly. Give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

That’s a lot easier to say than do.

Rejoice. Sure, I can rejoice when something good happens. I can rejoice when a friend has a baby, when my daughter tackles a new task, and when I witness or experience success. But rejoice always? Rejoice when my husband loses his job, when my kids don’t obey, or when someone I love is hurting? Am I really supposed to rejoice then?

If it is God’s will for us to rejoice in all circumstances then He will provide us with the strength and the ability to do so. I’ve often heard the saying “God will give you the strength” in reference to getting through life’s hard seasons.

We turn to verses like Matthew 11:28, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

He invites us to come to Him when life is too much for us to bear (which if we are being honest is probably more often than not). We are not meant to navigate the hurt of this sinful world on our own, we need Jesus. We need Jesus not just to get through life, but to rejoice through life because that is the life God desires for us, one filled with Him and rejoicing.

God desires for us to rejoice in Him in all seasons whether mountain top or valley. So when life is going good and all seems right we should rejoice in Him because He is there. But in the same way, when the hard season comes and all the air seems to have been sucked out of the room, we should still rejoice because our God is still there and He is still good.

He does not sit idly by and watch our pain and think, “Why isn’t she happy? She should rejoice.”

He sits right by our side in the middle of our pain - holds us up, strengthens us, and gives us the peace that even the hard things will be worked together for our good and His glory. We may not see that good or glory today, but it is there.

The hard seasons leave us hurt and ready to search out comfort and answers. That’s where we find Him.

God draws us in and speaks truth to us - the truth that one day, in Him, we will experience such glory and splendor that the sufferings of this world will not be able to compare (Romans 8:18).

There is the reason to rejoice: not only because it is His will for us but because He is there with us.

God taught me how to rejoice always and, over the next few weeks, rejoicing is just what I did.

Through walking away from his job, our church, and our home to a place where we knew no one and my husband had no guarantee of employment, we learned what it means to rejoice. We rejoiced that God led us on this journey and that He led others to help us along the way.

I rejoiced that I was hurt because, in that hurt, I saw how God can use our poor actions to bring Himself glory. I rejoiced because, in my need, I saw God more than I ever saw Him in my plenty.

Blessings,

Laura Dedmon