#32 Why do hard things, hard times come into our life?

On today's episode Crystal helps us understand why hard things or hard times come into our life. We first talk about the ways we handle those times. She gives us 5 different reasons/possibilities we are facing those hard times or hard things that come into our life.  

First, We are in a spiritual battle. Second, God allows that hard thing to come in our life. We see this in Job's life. Third,  By our own doing, by own choices, Jonah is a perfect example. Fourth, We reap what others sowed. As children we reap what our parents sowed. Fifth, Life is just so darn hard. In this life we will have troubles. 

The next time something hard comes into your life or if you find yourself in a hard situation right now.  Ask God to reveal to you. 

·       God why has this hard thing, or hard time come into my life? 

·       God which of these 5 reasons is it? Is it any of these reasons at all?  

·       Write down what God reveals to you in your journal.

·       Pray over what God reveals to you.    

God loves us in our running days, and in our not so running days too. 

·       This too shall pass, & brighter days are ahead.

·       No Thing is too hard for God.

And don't just listen—run on over and join the No More Running email list info@crystalloyd.com and share a five-star podcast review.

Join the newly added No More Running Private Facebook group. 

Would you like to do some one-one Coaching with Crystal, email her at info@crystalloyd.com and connect with her on No More Running Facebook and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/crystalloyd2/#

Music By:
Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/ben-johnson/the-closer-we-feel
License code: HA7PD16JS2TQHPKA

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:07

Have you ever found yourself running? Running mentally, emotionally, spiritually, financially and even running physically from things in this life. This is no More Running. The podcast for women. Hello, I'm your host, crystal Lloyd, and I've been known to run and still find myself running from the things in this life. Running from God, His calling, his purpose for my life. Running from change that's within my control, that needs to be made, or any type of change. Running from hard or even good or even just simple little things in this life. And God said to me Crystal, if you will stop running and surrender, there are things that we can accomplish together. Maybe you find yourself running as I have. I want you to know that you're not alone. Let's go from running to no more running together. Let's get started with prayer. Holy Spirit, we invite you to be a part of the podcast, the lessons, the life coaching and the sharing of our stories. Let it be known today that you are God. God, help us to go from running in this life, from whatever it may be that we're running from, from running to no more running in Jesus' name.

Speaker 1: 1:33

Hard, who likes when hard things or hard times come into our life? Not it. Hard times make me want to run Like run, forrest run, run, Crystal run. I've been known. If you've been following me long enough, you know that I've been known to run from things, and hard is one of the things. Hard days, hard times, is one of the things that I struggle with. Not running from I just can't deal some days. Then the thoughts come I don't see anyone else struggling with this hard thing. Why me, only me, only my marriage, only my children, only my job, only, only only, which is a lie from Satan, I think you know. One step forward, two steps back Then. So why do hard things come into our life? That's what we're going to talk about today. All I have ever done is run when hard things come into my life.

Speaker 1: 2:37

Now, sometimes, when hard comes, those hard times, come those hard days, it can feel like an abuse. Times come, those hard days, it can feel like an abuse. It can feel like you know the abuse that has happened in my past or my childhood, or the trauma that you went through can feel like that's coming at you again, that it's happening all over again, and so that gives me that urge to run or want to run. It also can feel like a punishment from God, or God's people, or just life, is just out to punish me, only me. I can't get ahead. I mean, this is how we feel sometimes. It's human nature, right, that we have that urge to run, that we have that, you know, that urge to run. Or we want to run, or we want to just get away from that hard thing. We want to protect ourselves, rightly so. Who wants to face those days, those weeks, those months? Me, me, me, me, me. You know, one out of five people in a given year is struggling, will be struggling, with hard things and hard times. I don't know about you, but I feel like that number should be way higher than one out of five.

Speaker 1: 3:57

But then there are days that I tackle those hard days. There's actually days that I don't run, believe it or not. There are days that I tackle those hard things and hard times like a warrior. I mean I fight, I fight back the darkness. I say to Satan get behind me, satan, get in your rightful place. I stomp all over Satan. Go back to hell, where you belong, satan, and I feel empowered, I feel the battle is won With God. We got this. Those days I feel great about the hard times, or the hard days or the hard weeks in my life when I fought back.

Speaker 1: 4:40

But then there are days that I grab my running shoes, I put those running shoes on and I go running from it all. I lay down. I'm too tired to get up and fight. I wave my white flag, I surrender. I surrender Me's give up, me's give up. You know, like Jar Jar Binks on Star Wars, me's give up, me's give up. I just can't do it. I can't do this. It's too hard. Not today, I'm not dealing with it today.

Speaker 1: 5:11

But we all deal with that hard thing differently. We deal with different stressors or different levels of stress, depending on how much we can cope with when one person may deal or cope better with this hard thing. But then this other hard thing, I might deal with it better. You know, this day, this week, it just depends on how it affects us, and how it affects us personally, how it comes at us. It affects us personally how it comes at us. So why do hard times and hard days and hard weeks and hard months come into our life? Well, today we're going to look at five different reasons why hard things or hard times come into our life. Yes, I believe there may be more than what I'm going to give you, but we're just going to look at five today, and number one being Satan is out to steal, kill and destroy. John 10, 10.

Speaker 1: 6:16

We are in a spiritual battle. I don't know about you, but I totally, completely, completely forget about being that. There's a spiritual battle raging around me, around our families, around our marriage, around our church. I mean Satan. I mean the Bible tells us, he reminds us that Satan is here to steal, kill and destroy. Satan is here to steal, kill and destroy. And then I wonder what is happening. Why is this happening? What is going on? I remember in those days in the ministry, I would wonder what is going on, why is this happening?

Speaker 1: 7:00

But number two reason possibly could be God allows that hard thing to come in our life. We don't really like to think that God has allowed hard things to come into our life, but I will tell you that there, when I face hard times, you know, yes, I run, but then there it brings me closer to God and so we can look at job. God allowed that. He even at, you know, told satan like have you considered my servant job? Job did nothing wrong. Job was a righteous man. God is in the heart. You know, I love how Job even responds to the heart that God allowed in his life in Job 13, 15. Just the first part of it says, though he slay me, yet I will hope in him. That's the better way, right there, when hard times come, be faithful to God and be like God. Even though this hard thing has come into my life, I will hope in you. And then there's another example is John 9.

Speaker 1: 8:13

The man born blind. The disciples asked Jesus who sent this man, or his parents, that he was born blind. And Jesus responds neither this man nor his parents sin, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. No one had sinned right now or that you might face. That is coming your way. Its purpose may not be about you at all. It may be that God might be displayed in your life, in your story, and to help others, so others can see God.

Speaker 1: 9:00

I want you to look at 2 Corinthians 1.4. And of course you know I like the message, which is the paraphrase, but I like the message and how it says it. It says he comes alongside of us when we go through hard times and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times, so that we can be there for that person, just as God was there for us. This hard thing that's come into your life it may have nothing to do with you, nothing. It may be that God might be displayed in your life, in your story, in your story, and to help others as well. Number three that hard thing that's in your life right now, possibly, just maybe.

Speaker 1: 9:58

We don't like to think like this, but it's by our own doing, by our own choices. We have to be honest and we have to ask ourselves did this hard thing come into my life because of the choice that I make? Am I just facing the consequences of my own actions? We don't like to think like that, do we? It's usually because we blame other people. This came into my life because of this or that, or you or me. You know, I mean, we just don't. We just don't. We don't like to blame ourselves or to think that it's our fault because of our own sin.

Speaker 1: 10:37

And look at Jonah. This is a good example. He disobeyed God and what God was asking him to do, and then, and then the storms came, and then he was swallowed by the big fish. I mean he even tells the people that he is sharing the boat with yeah, this storm it's my fault, it is totally my fault. At least he admits it. Right, you know, or we don't sometimes. But he says, if you throw me overboard, this storm will stop. And sure enough it did. And you know he was facing those storms because of his own actions.

Speaker 1: 11:25

We reap what we sow. Be careful the choices that we make. Be careful what we sow. Number four the hard thing, the hard time that has come because we reap what others sow. Look at the sailors, the captain of that ship, of Jonah. They was reaping what Jonah sowed. I mean they had nothing to do with what Jonah did and how he disobeyed God, but they were reaping Jonah's consequences.

Speaker 1: 11:56

And as children, we reap what our parents sowed or our grandparents sowed or our great grandparents sowed, because they didn't fight their battles or break their cycle, that cycle, or win their battles. I mean it's got passed down from generation to generation. But let that be our lesson right here Get in the fight. Because some of us are not even in the fight, we are not breaking those cycles, we are letting those things that's in our life get passed down to our children and our grandchildren. I don't know about you, but it stops here. I don't know about you, but it stops here. I do not want the things in my life to pass down from my children to my children, to my grandchildren, to my great-grandchildren, thousands of generations to come. No, if you're not in the fight, get in the fight. Get in that fight, break that cycle. Get in the fight. Get in that fight, break that cycle. Fight your battles so that it will not get passed down to your children or grandchildren.

Speaker 1: 13:10

And as parents, you know, sometimes we reap what our teenagers so, or what our young adults so, or our children I mean they could be older children but as parents we reap what our children sow. You know they're, they're facing this hard um thing because of what they've decided to do, and then we are connected to them. So then we are going through it with them as well. Even a family member you know, or who we are connected to, our friends, just like those sailors. They weren't friends with Jonah, but they did reap what Jonah sowed. They had to face those storms too. So you may have to face things because of your friends or who you're connected to. And then, number five, reason why hard things come into our life is life is just so darn hard. There's nothing we did, nothing we didn't do. There's nothing we said or didn't say. Life is just so hard sometimes, not all the time, but yes, this life is so hard and life. If life isn't hard right now, well, it may be coming, because it does come, because it's life, it's just part of life.

Speaker 1: 14:42

Good example is that my daughter had a low tire and she's very independent and her daddy has showed her how to air up a tire and do many things. So she is very independent, she knows how to do things. She doesn't she just she doesn't ask for help. She usually does it herself because she knows how, because her daddy's taught her how to do it. And so she goes and it's not ironing up, her tire is not ironing up, her tire is not ironing up. She could not figure it out. So of course, daddy, her father, comes to the rescue and he goes and helps out, ended up being the gas station's pump was messed up so they had to go to a different gas station. But on his way home he's driving his truck and it breaks down. He's on a major highway here and it just shuts off. It just shuts down, it turns off, and so he struggles to get it into a parking lot, to get it parked out of the way, to get off of the main highway and it breaks down and we had to have it towed. And then $400 later, yeah, the truck needs a fuel pump.

Speaker 1: 15:58

So thank goodness I listened to Dave Ramsey and had an emergency fund and so, yeah, but life happens. You know, trucks break down, cars break down, things happen. Life is just part of life sometimes. But I was a Sunday school teacher years ago, years ago, when we were in the ministry, and so I would give out homework. So, yeah, some of you are like homework. No, I don't listen to this podcast. For homework, click. I'm done with this podcast.

Speaker 1: 16:31

Well, okay, you can action steps, as they say in the podcast world, but the next time something hard comes into your life, or if you're facing hard times right now, I want you to sit down and I want you to ask God to reveal to you why has this hard thing come into my life or even come into my mind Sometimes, you know, hard comes into your mind and you're facing it in your mind. Which of these five things is it? Is it any of these reasons? And write down what God reveals to you in your journal and then lay your hands on it, pray over it and say God, reveal to you, me what it is, lord. And I want you to know, friends, that God is engaged. I want you to believe this. I want you to trust this and trust God, that if you're fighting a battle, god is there with you. The Bible tells us Emmanuel, god is with us, emmanuel. If you're fighting, then he is fighting. He's in that battle, right alongside of you. God loves us in these hard days, in our hard times. He loves us when we run and when we don't run, in our no more running days, and he's there with us all the time. And remember this too. This too shall pass and brighter days are ahead. The storm will calm and the sun will come out. And then remember this no thing is too hard for God. A friend shared shared that with me. She was doing a Bible study and it was about hard things. She remembered that from the Bible study, no thing is too hard for God.

Speaker 1: 18:27

Okay, friends, that's it for this episode. Be sure to subscribe to this podcast. Share this episode on social media and with your friends so we can reach and help more women Tune in every other Saturday so together we can go from running to no more running. It stops here. I'll see you next Saturday, friend. Hey don't forget. You can sign up for the no More Running email list at info at crystalloycom and make sure to like, share and follow. We would love for you to leave a review for the podcast. This helps us reach even more women who might find themselves running as well. Gotta run.