We all know that life is hard, and it’s unfair. I think a lot of us get surprised when hard things come our way, there’s a belief that if we do things the ‘right’ way we will be shielded from suffering. But God never said that. Some of the hardest things to ever overcome happened to Jesus, so really why should we be an exception!
Trading punches with the heart of darkness
Going to blows with your fear incarnate
Never gone until it’s stripped away
A part of you has gotta die today
In the morning you gon’ need an answer
Ain’t nobody gonna change the standard
It’s not enough to just feel the flame
You’ve gotta burn your old self away
The song today is ‘Hard Love’ by Needtobreathe. I love the version which also features Lauren Daigle. I found that version on the soundtrack to ‘The Shack’. This song reflects our hard struggle in life. I have been doing a lot of reflecting about what our struggles in life bring about in us. They birth a new strength and resilience which we take forward with us. Suffering can also teach us compassion and gratitude if we do the work necessary to come out the other side of our darkness.
Hold on tight a little longer
What don’t kill ya, makes ya stronger
Get back up, ’cause it’s a hard love
You can’t change without a fallout
It’s gon’ hurt, but don’t you slow down
Get back up, ’cause it’s a hard love
While we can find purpose in suffering, and we can grow and change for the better, suffering is hard. It can feel like we’re holding onto the edge of the cliff with bloody fingers, waiting for our strength to fail and send us plummeting into the darkness. Suffering is exhausting and relentless. It is uncomfortable and depressing. It can be very lonely too, no one else is able to walk the path for us.
You know the situation can’t be right
And all you ever do is fight
But there’s a reason that the road is long
It takes some time to make your courage strong
I want to offer you comfort if you find yourself in the darkness. We may start to believe that we will never crawl our way out of it, life will never feel better. We might also believe that we are alone in our suffering. Our exhaustion may feel just too overwhelming. But take heart. You are not alone and you don’t need to walk through the valley of darkness and death on your own.
When the wolves come and hunt me down
I will face them all and stand my ground
‘Cause there’s a fire burnin’ in me
They will see my strength in this love I found
God has promised to be with us through it all. We are not fighting in our own strength, but with the strength of the Almighty.
“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
Deuteronomy 31:8.
Yes, there are times we want to surrender to the darkness, when it all feels like too much. But know that God is giving us the tools we need and the strength we will require to overcome. He has walked the path before us and is alongside us the whole way. He is crying with us and hears our anger and rage. He is holding us and carrying us when we just can’t keep going. So ‘hold on tight a little longer, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, get back up because it’s a hard love’.
https://music.apple.com/za/album/hard-love-feat-lauren-daigle/1198257606?i=1198258538
Watch the lyric video for ‘Hard Love’ by NEEDTOBREATHE ft Lauren Daigle
My Song in the Night 