The man named Job uttered words of such raw anguish that they still echo through the ages. He cried out, “Why did I not die at birth? Why did I not perish when I came from the womb? ” Perhaps our own sentiments are not that extreme, but we all know what it means to be shaken by mental and emotional battles.
These struggles turn our worlds inside out. They come to us all in life. We see people wrestling with them daily, trying to make sense of what is happening to them. Scripture records such battles too.
King David wrote, “My heart is sore pained within me, and the terrors of death are fallen on me. ” And we remember Hannah, who in her deep anguish prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. We know the trials of Job. These battles are real.
They are a part of life. In the world today, mental health struggles are at an all-time high. Many are crumbling under the weight of exhausting turmoil they do not know how to deal with. Sometimes it is not even about knowing how to deal with it.
The battles are simply beyond us. People are at their wit’s ends, trying to figure out the way forward, and many are lost in the anguish. Emotional hardships are everywhere, and it is a daily struggle just to make it through another day. The truth is that these battles usually do pass.
But before they pass, it can take a while, and it is the strength to hold on before victory comes that fails many people. That particular phase of life can be incredibly draining. I have been through it myself. There was a particularly bad period of lack in my life that lasted seven years.
The more my hope died, the more I seemed to lose hope in the Lord. At some point, it was hard even to remember that I was a Christian, that I was supposed to go to God for comfort. Everything felt tiring. Everything felt heavy.
By the seventh year, I felt weak on the inside. In many ways, I felt I had lost myself, until I learned in that hardship to find God again. Maybe you are standing on that precipice right now. Maybe you are on the verge of losing yourself, or perhaps you already have, and you need to find your way back.
The terrible thing about battles is that they shape us. They leave scars that can last a lifetime, even beyond coming out victorious. That scarring can mar us for life, so it is something we must fight against. In this battle, you must be determined not to lose yourself.
And if you have, it is never too late to make your way back. There is also something that must be in our hearts as we move through any battle. If we must win, if our songs will be songs of victory in the end, we cannot look away from the Lord. We must always find a way to re-anchor ourselves to him.
I know that can be hard. Many of us have given up on believing. Many of us are simply angry. You feel you have done everything right.
You are the model Christian. So why is this happening to you? Scripture speaks directly to this. Jesus said, “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace.
In this world you will have trouble. But take heart. I have overcome the world. ” And Isaiah tells us, “When you pass through the waters I will be with you, and when you pass through the rivers they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned. ” These verses make it clear that this world does come with troubles. In fact, we are assured we will have trouble. What makes the difference is how we go through it.
The first thing anyone needs is the ability to endure. Without the grace to endure, everything becomes nearly unbearable. And before we can endure, strength is needed. Without strength, endurance is impossible.
But in these battles, our natural strength is simply not enough. It will never be. Yet we have an advantage as Christians. We know the Lord, and that is why we must not become distant from him in our battles.
The two major ways we can draw strength in this season are through prayer and through the word of God. There is also seeking godly counsel, staying with people who help you feel close to God and who offer encouragement. But we cannot neglect the place of the word and prayer. Because Hannah wept bitterly, we learn that prayer in anguish is acceptable.
Psalm 50 tells us to call on him in the day of trouble. It is so easy to look outside of God for solutions when things get tough. But the Bible says the best way to come out of our troubles is to look to him. That is why the first thing we must do in our days of trouble is call upon the Lord continuously, even on days when prayer feels hard.
Especially on days when prayer feels hard. So he can walk with us through it. So he can give us strength to make it through that day. Heavenly Father, I thank you for this message and for your words, and how they help bring things into focus.
I thank you because even in this season, I can tell you are still mindful of me, even when things look hard. I thank you because you have not let me go off on my own. I thank you for insisting on me. I confess I have been tired and weary of this battle.
I confess it has drained me. I confess that sometimes prayer is difficult, and many times looking into the word is just as tough. I ask today that you help me overcome this grief that wants to overwhelm me. I come to you for your strength.
Strengthen me to go through this trial. Help me to lean into your comfort so that even when this storm is raging at its highest, I can find solace in you. Put the right people in my path. Help me to hear the right words so I can continually be encouraged.
I ask for the grace to stay in your word. I confess that having adequate word time has been difficult in this season. My ears have become too full of what my circumstance is saying and too low on what the word is saying. Help me build a sustained word habit in this phase.
Let me never grow weary of what you say to me. Let me never grow weary of the comfort of scriptures so I can hear your direction. Today, I confess this battle will not overwhelm me. I decree that it will not take me away from your presence.
It will not dominate my life. It will not leave me with lifelong scars. I will go through this and come out on the other side stronger. The Lord will strengthen me and hasten my steps.
I speak deliverance over this situation and over every mental and emotional anguish. I decree that my mind is renewed right now. Where this battle has left scars, I decree healing in Jesus’ name. There is an end, and I know an end is in sight for this battle.
I hold on to the Lord as he brings it to pass. Even as I wait for its end, I know that from this moment onward, the journey is smoother. I no longer wait from a place of hopelessness, but from a place of hope. I no longer wait alone, but with the Lord on my side.
Because he has said when I pass through the water, he will be with me, and the rivers will not overflow me. With him in my boat, I cannot fail, and I cannot sink. Amen. If you have said this prayer, I am certain the Lord is renewing your strength right now and giving you peace in every area that has brought turmoil to your heart.
As you step out today, it can be a different day because the weight is lifted and the heaviness is gone. Each day of your life is an opportunity to grow closer to God and become a better witness of him in all you do. Jesus once spoke of the vine and the branches. He said, “I am the vine, you are the branches.
If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing. ” And the fruit he meant is described in Galatians: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. A vineyard is a beautiful place to walk through, with carefully planted vines and luscious leaves and bright grapes.
But branches of a vine grow wild. They stretch too long, toppling over themselves and dragging the other branches down. A good farmer prunes them. The pruned branches are cut off from the vine to protect the rest.
They die and dry out because they cannot grow without staying connected to the main plant. This is what Jesus meant. Without our connection to him, we cannot do anything. John, also known as the beloved disciple, stayed close to Jesus and grew in grace quite a bit from the first time we met him to the last.
At first, John was stubborn and fiery. In his immaturity, he wanted to pray down fire on a city, and he thought discipleship was about getting the best seat in heaven. Jesus called him and his brother sons of thunder. But by the end, in the Revelation that became the last book of our Bibles, John is full of grace and humility.
This is the natural byproduct of abiding in God and living near Jesus. Just as a plant naturally produces fruit in the right conditions, your life will seem to naturally grow the fruit of the Spirit when you stay near God. Because you were made for it. When the creator made you, he had companionship and friendship in mind.
You were designed to stay close to the Father. It is when we turn our backs on him and try to grab other fruit that things go wrong. There is no quick fix to getting the fruit of the Spirit. You cannot buy it or steal someone else’s.
These fruits grow by daily living with Jesus, talking to God about your day, studying him through music, the Bible, and nature. What might change in your life if you experimented with this? Schedule one God moment every day this week. When I started doing this, I thought I needed to spend hours in prayer and do a deep study of the Bible every morning.
But that felt lifeless and honestly kind of boring. I knew God was not boring. He breathed galaxies into existence. So something was wrong with how I was trying to spend time with him.
I tried many different things, and I realized this: God cannot be tied down to a box of Bible study time alone. He wants to permeate every area of my life and every second of my day. His attention does not shift between holy and secular like mine used to. God’s eyes are always on me.
The invitation is always there. Abide in me, he beckons. This does not have to look like ticking a box or performing a ritual. It looks like becoming aware of his nearness in the now.
That is all. It felt easy and light. And then the unexpected happened. From this place of enjoying God’s presence, I naturally developed a hunger to read his word.
And what is more, I changed. Viewing my life through this new lens made me different. Staying near God transformed me and made me bear much fruit. It is like Romans 12 says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
” The Holy Spirit can feel difficult to understand and hard to connect with. But Jesus said the Spirit is our gift and our helper. He is God with us. Isn’t that what abiding is all about?
Don’t miss the invitation this morning before rushing into your day. Take a moment to breathe deep. God’s very own Spirit is in the room with you. You are not alone.
God gave you a helper. You can access the Holy Spirit no matter what you have done because Jesus made a way. It is called the fruit of the Spirit for a reason. These fruits grow into the daily lives of those who walk in step with the Holy Spirit, aware of God’s presence.
Jesus said, “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. ”
This Holy Spirit will help you grow in grace daily and bear much fruit. The love of God will overflow in your life. You will be known as a joyful person, and you will carry an inner peace.
Trusting in God’s timing, you will be patient. It will be said of you that you are really kind. You will be good to those around you. Faithful to your word, you will be easy to trust.
The humility of Christ will be evident, and you will practice self-control. Let us pray together that God will teach us about each of these fruits so our lives may bless those around us. Dear heavenly Father, I am so ready to become a person known by your Holy Spirit. I want to be a tree that bears fruit in and out of season, with leaves that never wither.
It is hard not to get burnt out and exhausted. But as long as I am planted next to your river of living water, I will flourish. Help me to stay near you by laying down the other things vying for my attention. Jesus said love is the greatest command.
It is the beginning and the end. I pray for a deeper revelation of how much you love me. You created me beautifully and wonderfully. After creating Adam and Eve, you stepped back and said, “That is very good.
” God, help me see myself through your eyes. The truth is that I am loved, accepted, and good enough. All my shortcomings were already paid for by the precious blood of Jesus. So I can walk openly and boldly.
I am loved by the creator of the universe. It is from this place of knowing I am loved that I can love others. May joy overflow from all I do. With my identity secure as your beloved, I feel a deep and pure joy rising from inside me.
Show me the little things you do every day to make me smile. I want to shine my light brightly so others ask what makes me so happy, and I can testify about you. When others look at me, may they see your peace that transcends understanding. Help me not to escalate tense situations but to be a person of peace.
Make me patient. Whether I am waiting in line or waiting for a breakthrough, show me how to wait well. When I do not get my way immediately, my character develops. Help me put my trust in you, patient and enduring until the time is right.
Make me kind. When I am hard and full of sarcastic remarks or judgment, I make it hard for others to see you in me. Soften my heart. I want to mirror your goodness.
Help me today to be generous and fair to every person who crosses my path. When it is within my means to give, may I do so. Help me not to withhold good from someone when I am able to bless them. You are so faithful.
Help me radiate that faithfulness. I want my no to be no and my yes to be yes. I want to be trustworthy, always doing what I said I would. It is hard when I get distracted or forgetful.
From the first day of my life, you have been faithful. You never leave my side. Help me to be faithful to you too. Forgive me when I get a little lost, and lead me back to your everlasting love.
Above all, keep me gentle. I do not want to hurt or offend others. I want to listen more than I speak. The perfect example is Jesus himself.
He did not come to be served but to serve. Even though he was God, he humbled himself. My ego often gets in the way of being gentle and lowly of heart. And teach me to practice self-control.
Whether by fasting or routine, I need to teach my body and mind to be controlled. Show me one practical way to grow in self-control this week. Make my life full of all these fruits. These are not things I summon from within myself by trying or striving.
I have a role to play, but ultimately these fruits come from abiding in you. Apart from you I cannot do any of this. Help me grow in grace daily and become the person you made me to be. I want to bear much fruit so my life will sing of your goodness.
Amen. May you spend the rest of this day tucked in close to Jesus’ heart, leaning on him all the way. Your life will overflow with the fruit of the Spirit when you keep abiding in him and living his way. If you are going through difficulties, we would be honored to pray for you.
God bless you, and may his peace be with you.
