When We Try To Go Through Tough Stuff Alone

Going at life “solo” is dangerous. I’ve seen it happen time and time again. You grow frustrated with your church and so you stop going. You drop out of your ladies Bible Study or pull away from your friends because tough stuff is going on in your life.

Whatever the reason; suddenly, we have put ourselves in a position of great vulnerability. Not that Satan doesn’t like to attack us in any kind of situation; but I think he finds us an especially easy target when we are going at life alone and without the support of a community of believers.

Yes, I’ve seen it. I’ve seen tragic things happen to families and friends who removed themselves from a positive and Godly circle of influence. I’ve watched marriages crumble into divorce. I’ve witnessed children fall prey to drugs and sexual temptations. I’ve cringed at unnecessary deaths.  And I’ve painfully seen people sucked into the vast tunnel of emotional and physical illness.

When tough stuff is going on in our lives; that is when we need one another the most. That is not the time when we should be dropping away from people who care about us. And yet it seems like that becomes such a magnetic pull for us. It’s like we think we will get back into church once we get our lives on track again, or we will rejoin that group once we can overcome “just this one” hurdle….and our “justs” become our downfall. We open ourselves up for attack.

I believe there are times where it’s important for us to take a step back from what we are doing and where we are going in life. I think fresh focus and clear insight can only be gotten by sometimes putting a “pause” on what we have going on with and around us. But I also believe that usually those times are entered into with a convicted heart – never an ashamed or guilty one. We go into these zones of life with every intention of renewal, obedience, and humility. Our heart focus is different.

We all are flawed. We all hurt.  We all wish that we could sometimes hide the ugliness that life can inflict on us. But those also are the very things that make us relatable to others. God can use them in our lives to be inspiring, healing to another hurting and lost heart… and He can turn our sorrow into a blessing by using it for the good of another.

Give others a chance. Give them a chance to truly love and accept you despite what “junk” you may have going on. Give them the opportunity to help you bear your burden. That’s what they are there for. And in the process, you just may find out that the perfect part of relationships is the imperfect threads that connect us all.