Take a Pause..Pray…Pretend it’s okay for a minute.
The Sun Will Shine Again, Part Two: Now What?
You have paused.
You have taken a deep breath.
You have prayed, cried, and allowed the first wave of shock to pass.
Now take out a pen and a sheet of paper and write two words:
Now what?
Whatever happened to you today, someone else has encountered it before—and perhaps endured even more.
Scripture tells us:
“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man.”
—1 Corinthians 10:13
Pain, disappointment, betrayal, illness, financial hardship, and loss are part of the human experience. That does not make your pain insignificant. It means you are not alone, and your situation is not beyond survival.
Find people who have walked through circumstances similar to yours. Learn how they endured them, what mistakes they made, what helped them heal, and how they eventually stood again.
Their stories can remind you that your present condition does not have to become your permanent destination.
Life Does Not Owe Us Immunity
We must stop believing that life owes us a trouble-free existence simply because we are here.
Life will not always bow to our expectations. Existing does not make us immune to grief, illness, rejection, disappointment, or hardship.
Some churches and religious voices have promoted the idea that faith makes a person immune to difficult circumstances. Christians are not promised immunity from pain.
If faith meant that nothing painful could ever happen to us, why would we need Christ to walk with us through suffering?
Jesus Himself suffered.
He was rejected, betrayed, humiliated, wounded, and crucified. Yet Scripture calls Him “the author and finisher of our faith” in Hebrews 12:2.
He knows what suffering feels like.
When we cry out to Him, we are not speaking to someone unfamiliar with pain. Christ does not abandon us inside our suffering. He sits with us in it and strengthens us as we pass through it.
We may not always understand why something was allowed to happen, but we can seek Him more deeply while it is happening.
You Will Rise Again
Jesus rose again after three days.
We may not rise after three literal days, but His resurrection carries a message of hope: darkness does not have the final word.
After a while, you will rise again.
After a while, you will stand on your feet again.
After a while, the sun will shine again—if you do not give up.
Sometimes we give up too soon because we have been taught to interpret hardship as evidence that God has forgotten us. We begin to believe that a painful life must be an unfair life.
But pain is part of the human condition.
I am sorry that it happened to you. I am sorry that you are hurting. But you are not the first person to walk through this kind of valley, and you will probably not be the last.
This experience may strengthen you. It may make you wiser. It may reveal something you could not see before. It may redirect you toward a purpose you never would have discovered while everything was comfortable.
Gold passes through fire before it becomes refined. Scripture compares tested faith to gold refined by fire because pressure can reveal strength that comfort never required us to develop.
I have gone through thick and thin, and I am still standing.
I have decided to be strong for you, my audience, because somebody has to be strong for someone. I want to be that voice reminding you that God is able.
Do not give up on yourself.
Not right now.
Not ever.
Ask Yourself: Now What?
You lost your job. Now what?
Update your résumé. Contact someone you trust. Apply for one position today. Jobs are opening every day. Finding another one may take five days, five weeks, or longer, but this uncomfortable period will pass.
Your spouse walked away. Now what?
Grieve. Pray. Seek wise counsel. Protect yourself and your children. Take the next necessary step without trying to solve your entire future tonight.
You lost custody of your children. Now what?
Walk through the painful season. Document what matters. Obtain appropriate counsel. Continue becoming stable, prepared, and present. A terrible chapter does not have to become your final chapter.
You have suffered miscarriage after miscarriage and still long for a child. Now what?
Perhaps you continue treatment. Perhaps you rest for a while. Perhaps you return to school, pursue music, study law, build a business, or rediscover the part of yourself that grief buried.
Your life does not have to remain suspended while you wait.
You may begin that degree and discover that your life has opened in a way you never expected. You may become pregnant during school or afterward. You may be led toward an entirely different purpose.
You do not yet know what God may do with this interruption.
Be patient with yourself. Be patient with the process. Learn to pause, breathe, pray, and be still.
“Be still, and know that I am God.”
—Psalm 46:10
Then listen.
You may not see the answer because everything is still misty. The sky may still be cloudy, and your eyes may still be filled with tears.
But as you become quiet, God can begin to show you—through prayer, Scripture, dreams, wise counsel, unexpected opportunities, and the people He sends—what He has prepared beyond this moment.
Dry your tears when you are ready.
Pick up your pen.
Ask yourself:
Now what?
Then listen for the answer.
The sun will shine again.
