How has God delivered you from difficult circumstances in the past?

We are living in such a strange time. No one could have predicted that an event such as a Pandemic would be possible in this day and age and yet, here we are. We are now almost 5~6 months into it and we have seen the worst. Yet, we have also seen some good. We asked our team about how God has delivered them from difficult circumstances in the past because we feel that God's hand is guiding all of this. As in the past, if God was able to deliver us from that time, He will do the same now.

Without further ado, here is what we have to say:

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After all that has happened; the pandemic, racism, the injustice of George Floyd (and many other victims who were swept under the rug), the BLM march, the elections coming up, death in the family and now, the wildfires. These are factors that can affect anyone especially if it's back to back, given no time to mute and take a breather of what’s external to us. For the past few months, we lived in pain, frustrations, anxiousness, sadness, and anything that had nothing to do with hope and faith.

I can attest to this where I have felt the weight of the world where it became so debilitating to do anything that is considered to be productive. It is so easy to fall into suffering without praying. It is also easy to deal with your problems by yourself without the help of others because it is burdensome to bring your problems to someone. I learned that suffering should not bring shame, but share with others on how God has delivered us through our struggles. Pain and suffering should not lead to discouragement because there is hope and God wants us to find hope in Him because He sustains us.

Genesis 50 is a classic adventurous story that most people know about. If you’ve read the passage, it is not just about the thrilling adventure with a typical happy ending, but it is a perfect depiction on how God uses the most painful and the most difficult parts of our lives into trusting what God has in store for us. We can always rest in the promises of God. Similarly, my favorite quote to go along with this theme about God bringing peace and hope within the chaos is by C.S. Lewis”

“Life with God is not immunity from difficulties, but peace within difficulties.”

God is so good that in the midst of my constant spiraling into deep introspections and cerebral dive-ins, He is always there to meet me and shed light to whatever problem I am wrestling with, and is later cemented by the community that keeps me accountable with my prayer life and my journey with God. And as cliche as it sounds, remember that you are not alone in your own suffering because He is our hope and our sustainer.

- Raisa

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God has shaped a different perspective of life as I come across difficult circumstances. Although that some circumstances are inevitable, I believe it’s part of the process of growing, learning, and leaning on God. In terms of deliverance, He has delivered me from being held in my anxiety, my fears, my doubts, as well my own personal worth. He transformed my mind by placing all those things into hope, optimism, strength, peace and confidence. Regardless of the seasons I go through, I still place my trust and hope in God because I know that He is good.

A word from the book of James shows that it’s not about the moment that’ll keep you in, it’s about the movement in your heart that God keeps you on going.

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

‭‭James‬ ‭1:2-4‬ ‭ESV

- Matt

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Recently, I came across words from "God" himself played by Morgan Freeman: 

" Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?"

- God, Evan Almighty (2007) 

When you imagine God's voice, its got to be Morgan Freeman right?  Jokes aside, I happened to stumble on that quote and I found that to be deeply thought proving. Reflecting on my own difficulties, I feel that the words from this movie couldn't be any more true. When I was laid off in 2013 from my job I found job hunting to be very difficult. But at that time, I wasn't really in a good place either. This was the year that I was starting to really get back into my faith and really focus on things internally rather than externally. So I decided to do something I never really have done before. I relied on God for this breakthrough. After being laid off in May, I solely devoted myself into actually finding myself in Christ rather than focusing on my job search. What happened next was nothing short of a miracle. In April of the following year, not only did I find myself working once more, but it was at least +60% my original salary! It was such a surprise and yet, something I knew that the Lord had gifted me with. You see during the waiting period between then these two events, I prayed constantly for a job, I prayed for patience, I prayed for help. But the Lord was really answering my prayer in a form of a way to practice what I was praying for. I learned that God's timing was perfect in respect to His plan for my life. That I need to practice patience and learn what that truly meant before God gave me my blessing. God isn't letting you suffer, rather he is teaching you, molding you, into what you need to be before we bestows upon you what you prayed for. 

'The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all; he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken. '

- Psalms 34:17-20

- Ralph