Life can low-key suck sometimes. And as a Christian, it becomes undeniably easy to doubt God. When life is not good, is God still good? When you feel alone, is God really there? When everything is falling apart, can He see the bigger picture? When you feel like God’s forgotten about you, how can He be your rock? These are some of the questions I have found myself asking recently. Maybe you’re in this boat with me. So, if we’re in this boat together, here’s some encouragement as we keep persevering to reach the shore.  

I want to tell you that it’s okay to ask these questions. God calls us to be honest with Him, and in Matthew 6, it talks about not putting on a façade before God but coming to Him as simply and honestly as we can. The Psalms are full of passages where David is crying out to God, questioning His sovereignty. And God knows these feelings are real. He calls us to trust in Him despite it, but that’s a hard thing to do. So, what does it really look like to be firm in God when it gets tough? That’s what I want to explore.  

I always remember the parable in Matthew 7 about the two builders, and the one who built on the truth of God was the wise builder. When the storms came, he remained because he built on the firm foundation of God. And there’s Psalm 18 which says, “The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; God is my rock in whom I take refuge,”.  I always pictured standing firm on God like standing on a rock the size of a stool, and me standing with a superhero stance ready for whatever storm may come, feeling like God is good and that He has everything in control. I wish this was the constant reality of what it looks like to stand firm on God, but the truth is, that’s a pretty hard stance to maintain when life starts to put you down. Recently God’s given me a new perspective on what it might look like to be  leaning on Him as my rock…   

1. You don’t have to stand – God doesn’t call us to be strong. 2 Corinthians 12 says that “His strength is made perfect in our weakness, we don’t have to be strong we just have to allow Him to strengthen us. We can do nothing without God” (John 15:5) so it’s not up to us to be strong and pretend like we have that superhero stance, but instead to cling to God, hold onto Him and allow Him to sustain you. He has overcome whatever storm you are amid. To lean on God doesn’t mean to constantly be strong. 

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” Matthew 11:28     

2. Feel your feelings but KNOW the truth – it is so hard to believe in God when other things are telling you it’s nonsense. When you realise life is not as simple as it used to be. When you have a million things to juggle. When you feel like no one sees you. How on earth do you then feel like God is good, or that He cares about you? The real answer is that we don’t have to feel that. Feel the sadness, feel the pain, feel the loneliness, feel the hopelessness, feel the exhaustion… but KNOW HIS TRUTH. Know that God is for you, not against you. That He doesn’t leave you nor forsake you, that He works all things together for good, that heaven is your home and that He sees you. Even if you don’t necessarily believe what you are preaching, to be firm in God means to trust in His word despite what your emotions are telling you or what your circumstances are indicating.  

“For the word of God is alive and active…” Hebrews 4:12   

3. You are not alone – there is no such thing as standing on God alone. God calls us to be in a community for a reason. When you are going through the really hard stuff, you aren’t doing it alone. And you may be thinking, easy for you to say… but in all honesty, it’s not easy for me to say, because I know what it feels like to have no one to turn to when the going gets tough, but God has really shown me the importance of true friendship. The prayer, support, encouragement and assurance of the community God has placed me in, and it is something I am beyond grateful for. When you are firm in God you aren’t on a stool by yourself, but on an Uluru-type rock, you are part of a community of believers who have your back. 

“Carry each other’s burdens and in this way, you will fulfil the law of Christ” Galatians 6:2   

This is what God has slowly been teaching me as I continue to be firm in Him. If you feel like you may be in that boat, waves crashing left, right, and centre, the shore seeming so far you can’t even see it, I urge you, don’t look to the shore but keep your eyes fixed on the One who will get you there. There is hope. And that hope is Jesus. You’ll get through this with Him leading the way!  

  “And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of faith”  

Hebrews 12:1-2