At the beginning of the summer, I decided to take a break. I had just finished my second year at Charis Bible College, and it seemed like a good time to take a break from social media and this blog. Just to unwind after a hectic but fantastic year. Enjoying the summer and time with my husband, family, friends, and, of course, with God.
No sooner said than done, and the initial time was wonderful and peaceful, but suddenly things took a turn, and my husband and I found ourselves in a struggle that severely tested our faith, patience, and trust in God. We did our best to stay in the Word and close to God, but to me, it felt like God was on vacation instead of me, LOL.
This is, of course, a lie from the enemy to make us feel like God has abandoned us. After all, God’s Word is full of promises that He will never forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:8); we are even sealed with Him (Ephesians 1:13).
“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
Yet, we faltered again and again. We fell, stumbled, got back up, and in that order about ten more times, LOL. But, praise the Lord, we stood up together as a team.
Suddenly, a turning point arrived. Although the situation remained unchanged, our joy suddenly “inexplicably” returned, and we experienced peace and tranquility amidst this thundercloud. We managed to gain perspective and received wisdom from God when we asked for it on how to handle the whole situation.
Like Job
That whole period of struggle and opposition reminded me of Job. How he continued to believe in God and trust Him despite everything being taken from him and him being helpless and sick on the side of the road. I drew hope from his story.
Finally, with God’s help, we managed to get a clear picture of the entire situation and everything that had happened to us. This allowed us to create a strategic plan to get out of the situation. At that point, little had changed, but we did have a plan of action, which also contributed to peace. 
God can get us out of a situation in the blink of an eye; to Him, that’s peanuts! Especially when I compared our situation to stories from the Bible, such as Moses and the Israelites standing with their backs to Pharaoh’s approaching army while simultaneously looking out over the Red Sea (Exodus 14). “Just part the sea,” thought our God! “Well, then our thing should be a piece of cake for you, Lord,” I thought at that moment.
But from this whole situation, I learned that God sometimes wants to teach us a lesson. This doesn’t mean God bombards us with problems or struggles—that’s what the enemy does, or when we, consciously or unconsciously, take a “wrong turn.” But God can use it to test our faith (James 1:2-4). Through these trials, we learn to persevere and hold on to our faith. They also often reveal our shortcomings or issues we still need to address. This will help us grow even more in our faith, become even more steadfast, and be even more firmly grounded in our rock, Jesus.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” – James 1:2-4
Breaktrough
Once we’d learned that lesson to a great extent, the breakthrough came! 
And a flood of blessings flowed our way! We were overwhelmed by God’s goodness and favor, which came our way in all sorts of ways.
I want to encourage you with this: whatever situation you find yourself in, never forget that you are not alone. God is always with you and will not leave you alone. If He doesn’t take the storm away, then there’s a lesson to be learned, a test to be overcome.
But once you’ve passed through the trial, there lies the breakthrough, the blessing! And you’ve taken another step toward growing into a powerful follower of Jesus!
