Hey, my name is Kate McClure, and I’m a part of the God Today team. Welcome to God Today. I want to talk to you about what it looks like to walk through hard things. So in life, there are things that are so much fun and so awesome, and you just walk in the blessings. And then sometimes, let’s be real, life is not perfect, and we have to walk through really hard things. We might have to walk through financial hardship, or a loved one that passed away, or you’re trying to find a new job, or you want to find a spouse, or something happened that stinks. And so, I want to talk about something that God showed me of how we can walk through hard times and do it well and partner with Him in it.
And it was actually through this one adventure I was on. I was hiking in Colorado and I was going three miles hiking up this mountain, this like insane altitude change, and then running down the mountain three miles. And so we finally got up to the top. It was absolutely beautiful. I was out of breath, but we were going to run the backside of it. So, we start running down the mountain and we’re about a mile in, and I am like, my feet hurt, I can’t breathe, I need water. Like I was just in pain and the Holy Spirit said, “Hey, stop being so consumed by the pain and look around.” He just told me. He had me look up and look around at the beauty because I’m in Colorado, I’m in the mountains and there’s just so much beauty surrounding me. So instead of being focused on my pain and my feet and my breathing and all the things, I just started looking around me and watching the scenery and enjoying and thanking God for the beauty that He created.
I took that into my life and I thought, “Hey, if I can find the beauty in that pain, I can do that in things that I walk through.” And so how do we do that in life? We thank God for the good things that He has given us. We can look outside of our situation. We can look outside of our pain and say, “Thank you, God.” I mean, just one thing: that He is good. Another thing: that He has given us salvation. Another one: He loves you. There’s so much to be thankful for. And so I want to encourage you. If you’re walking through a hard time, look at the beauty that God already has around you. Be thankful for those things.
And so I bless you in Jesus’ Name, if you are walking through a hard time that the Father is the walking with you through it, that He is Emmanuel, God with us. That He does not leave you. And I just pray right now that He shows you the beauty that He has you surrounded in. And I just pray that it is easy that you just thank Him for one thing. And I just pray the multiplication of that. And as you thank Him for that, that thankfulness increases in your life, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.