“And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast.” 1 Peter 5:10
The good news is, our suffering is not eternal. There is an expiration date on our problems, even if that means in life after death. But His grace is sufficient to carry us through this moment, to get us through to the other side. Our humanness doesn’t want to hear that right now. We want our problems to be resolved immediately. We want instant relief from the pain and suffering we are in. We are human. It’s uncomfortable being in this ditch, surrounded by a wall of muddy problems.
We don’t really understand it all… the how it happened, why it happened, or the fact that it happened at all. But, we still must trust and have faith that he is present in this ditch with us. We are not alone and He is working in a way that we cannot see, to lift us up and out, back on the road. Our job right now is to make the best of our time here, growing our faith, our obedience, our trust in every word He has said. It is very hard. We just have to keep on keeping on, no matter what. Look up. There is light at the top of the ditch, even if we don’t choose to see it. A better day is coming, even though we are in the midst of a terrible storm right now.
Jesus is with us, just as He was in the boat with the disciples through their raging storm. In Mark 4:35-41, He calmed the storm for them, even in their doubt, and He will do the same for us. I know, we all want out of this boat, pronto. We are scared, tired, and lonely. But if we truly believe He is who He says He is, then we just have got to put our trust in Him and Him alone to get us through this storm.
We have to have the courage to take one step at a time, rebuilding our lives, pouring a brand new foundation for the rebuild. That starts with Him and His word. Are we digging deeper into His word, reading, writing and studying what it says, feeding on it to strengthen and encourage us? Are we focusing on being our healthiest, strongest selves, getting up and getting after it each morning? Are we making the tiny choices that can add up to huge successes?
We can find purpose and meaning in these problems, allowing them to grow us in ways we didn’t know we were capable of. What are your dreams of tomorrow? What does the very best version of you look like? What is the who, what, when, where, how, and why of your life story going to be? 
Who do you want to be?
What are you going to do to make this transformation happen?
When do you see this coming to fruition?
Where will you be this time next year? In three years? 10 years?
How are you going to do your part to make this happen?
Why are you making these changes?
This is a picture of the storyboard that’s in your head. It is how you see in your mind’s eye, your imagination, what your life could look like next year, in three years, in 10 years. But all of those possibilities start with today. By taking one, small step in the right direction, in faith and courage, towards whatever goals and dreams we have in our heart. We can walk out those visions of our best lives, but it takes making one, first step towards it. The key to this is knowing where we are going. We have to set a goal first. 
Food for Thought: What does strong, firm, and steadfast look like to you? Remember the story of Jesus healing the paralytic man by the pool of water and John 5? Reflect on His question, “Do you want to be healed?”
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua:1:9
A FRUITFUL LEGACY 