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What do you do when God doesn’t “fix” the devastating situations in your life?  Maybe as you await His response you struggle to keep the faith and even wonder where He is and how He’ll use your challenges for His glory.  Often, we erroneously expect that when our testimonies start out rough, they will eventually be resolved with a “nice, tidy bow.”  Then, when that’s not the case, we question God and believe we’ve done something wrong. If any of that resonates with you, then Laura Story’s story will be of tremendous help.

Laura’s husband, Martin, developed a brain tumor early in their marriage. In the first five years of coping with her husband’s diagnosis and subsequent health challenges she prayed, hoping God would fix their problem and completely heal Martin.  But He didn’t – at least not in the way they thought He would.

You probably know Laura’s music even if you don’t know her story. One particular song that took the world by storm is entitled “Blessings,”. I personally got to know Laura first through that song and then, second, through a book she authored to share her journey with her husband through a very difficult season of their lives.  Both through her music and her written word, Laura has allowed us to take a peek on the inside of her family’s hardship and the blessings from walking the hard road. 

Can you relate?  We are often laid bare by our greatest struggles.  We pray in faith, calling on the name of God, acknowledging that He is God and we are not, but we still may find that we embrace suffering with fear and a lack of trust.  Many of us are held captive by our hard circumstances and become bitter because we don’t know what to do with our hurt.  Others of us are too quick to skip past the hurt and we don’t appropriately grieve, opting instead to put on the try to pretend things are okay rather than dealing with the pain and trauma of what has happened. 

While we may wonder why bad things happen, the truth is that suffering is a part of living. Laura reminds us to respond to suffering with grief when needed and not to minimize our circumstances. We can give our huge hurt to our huge God, believing that God doesn’t waste any of our hurts and somehow His work will be displayed through our brokenness.


Laura has realized that Martin’s disability actually teaches her and their children how to live in a way that reflects God’s original intention for mankind. She has learned that there is beauty and blessing in complete dependence on God even in the midst of the ebbs and the flow of the unexpected seasons of life.

Have you given your huge hurt to our huge God?  Like Laura, I know God can take whatever you have to offer, even if all you have is hurt and brokenness. He has a way of exchanging brokenness for unexpected blessings.

 

Highlights from Today’s Episode

  • Praying in faith
  • Embracing suffering
  • Honoring others in our suffering
  • Relinquishing control

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Let’s Talk!

  1. What does it mean to you to pray in faith?
  2. In what ways do you struggle the most in responding to suffering?
  3. In what areas of your life do you struggle to surrender control?
  4. What part of today’s episode spoke to you most in your current situation?

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