Hope In The Dark.

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crisis is ignited by a specific trigger, such as a serious physical challenge, a financial setback, or a relational disappointment. Often the trigger is something unexpected or even

unthinkable. Sometimes several smaller but challenging events overlap, and the combined burden becomes a crushing weight that causes a person's faith to collapse. Didn't Christ say that his burden was light and his yoke was easy (Matt. 11:30)? Suddenly, getting out of bed in the morning feels intimidating. You can't imagine how you're going to get through the rest of this morn ing, let alone an entire day. Where's God now?

In those moments, faith seems irrelevant. When the Titanic is sinking, it's hard to enjoy a game of shuffleboard on deck or to appreciate the string quartet playing music on the bandstand. When you don't know whether the radiation and chemo will work or where the money's going to come from or when you'll see your child again, it's hard to believe that praying, trusting, and hoping will make a difference. It's hard to keep the faith when you have so little control over everything else in your life.

Sometimes the pain is so intense that all you can think about is relief. Everything in you just wants it to stop. Because the immediate hurt is so extreme, instead of thinking about Jesus, you may just be thinking about getting out of the pain you're in. But this can become a pivotal moment in your faith journey. This is when you can experience the depth of God's grace in a way that's impossible during better moments. His presence is real in your pain. And it might become more real in this valley than it was on the mountaintop, if you can recognize that the way is through, not out.

Page 60...I've had some difficult conversations with God. So when I encounter people who have deep faith struggles, it's easy for me to patiently hear them out. I have compassion for them that I didn't before. And even when I talk to people who have dif ferent views on the existence or goodness of God, my approach to sharing with them has changed over time. Through years of maturing, I've learned that it's not our job to force our belles down others' throats until they echo back what we want to hear. No, our job is to challenge their categories by doing the same thing Jesus did: loving them, challenging them, accepting them, and forgiving them.

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Although we don't understand, we continue to believe God, listening for His voice and waiting on His answer

 And just like Habakkuk, we cling to God and trust him, even when he dosent seem to make sense.

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I've never seen this more powerfully than with one of best friends, John. About two years ago, John noticed a ringing in his ear that grew louder and louder until it was unbearable. After several visits to various doctors, John was diagnosed with an incurable condition called tinnitus. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the worst, his condition is a 9.5. Many people with cases less severe than John's can't stand the pain and noise, and they end up taking their own lives. My buddy will tell you honestly that he didn't want to live but was determined to overcome this nonstop nightmare. my

One day, John flew to Atlanta to meet with one of the nation's best tinnitus doctors. One reason this doctor is so good is because he suffers from the same condition. He gave John a custom-fitted earpiece designed to create a competing noise that helps drown out the constant freight train sound in his head. But, the doctor admitted, it probably wouldn't do much to help in John's extreme case. This wise doctor explained that the best thing John could do was to serve others. Yes, you read

The way to forget about the pain is to help other that right. The people, so you forget about yourself (love this because it's so true)

And that's exactly what John did. On top of his usual prayer and Bible study time, John started doing more-way more. He and his wife started a small group and began pouring into others spiritually. They started serving in different roles in the church, and they "adopted" a single mom and her kids to help them climb out of a very bad situation. John tells me all the time that the buzzing sound in his head is just as bad as it's ever been, but it doesn't bother him as much as it used to Occasionally through tears, John tells me that he's never been closer to God than he is now. And though he would never choose this road nor wish it on his worst enemy, John is thank ful for it, because his nightmare condition has helped him come to know God more intimately.

John's story reminds me of one in the New Testament, in which the apostle Paul experienced what he referred to as "a thorn in my flesh in his second letter to the church at Corinth. Paul said he had asked God over and over to remove it. But God didn't. Paul describes this agonizing prayer: "God, I know you can do something about this. Please do. Take it away. Remove it. I'm pleading with you, please take it away from me" (2 Cor. 12:7-8, my paraphrase).

Maybe you can relate. "Please heal my loved one." "Please help me get a better job." "Please help me get accepted into my favorite school." "Please save my dad." "Please take the depression away." "Please stop my migraines."

But the thorn remained