How to Find Strength in Tough Times

How to Find Strength in Tough Times


Hardships (from health crises and financial problems to grief and broken relationships) befall every person living in this fallen world – Christians and non-Christians alike. But as a Christian, we have access to the Holy Spirit, (“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.” John 4:16) who will empower us to overcome each hardship we face when we ask God to help us.

The Psalmist wrote “God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.” Psalm 36:1

Here’s how we can find strength in tough times by turning to God for help:

Instead of trying to avoid suffering, seek to learn and grow through it. Keep in mind that God is more interested in making our life holy than He is in making our life happy, because holiness has eternal value. God’s goal is to help us learn how to become more like Jesus Christ, and we often can do that best by going through suffering and developing a stronger character in the process. So don’t expect that we can avoid suffering; accept the fact that suffering will inevitably come into our life (as it does for everyone) whenever God allows it. Jesus Himself said “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” ( John 16:33)

So instead of trying to avoid suffering, we need to ask God to use it to accomplish good purposes in our life. Ask God to help us view our hardship from the perspective of how it advances God’s purposes for us. The Apostle Paul writes that Satan had given him “ a thorn in my flesh”. And each time he asked God to heal him, God’s answer was, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. (2 Corinthians 12:7-9)

Follow our faith, not our feelings. This is not always easy to do but we should choose to believe God’s promises that He is always in control of our life, He always loves us and cares about us, and He will never leave or forsake us – no matter how we may feel when going through hardships. Our feelings are completely unreliable factors on which to base our decisions, since they’re constantly changing and can be flawed and even irrational. When we’re going through tough times, we need to base our decisions on biblical truth – which is always reliable – rather than on our emotions. Trust that the Holy Spirit is with us as we deal with hardships, even when we don’t sense His presence or understand what we’re going through. Follow Jesus’ guidance to first exercise trust in God and then discover the truthfulness of God’s promises by our obedience. We should be on guard against evil spiritual forces who want to use our feelings to discredit God’s promises. Pray for the faith we need to stand strong on God’s promises to us.

In his letter to the church at Ephesus, Paul gives them a final word: “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.” Ephesians 6: 10-13



Instead of asking “Why?” ask “How?” God may or may not choose to reveal on this side of heaven why He has allowed a particular hardship to enter our life, so asking Him “Why?” may not bring us an answer that we can understand right now. However, when we ask God how we can best respond to the hardship we’re facing, He will often reveal some of the good purposes that He wants us to fulfill as we go through the situation. Ask God how He wants to use our hardship to draw us closer to Him and accomplish more of the mission He has given us for our life on Earth.

Paul writes to the church in Corinth, “He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us.” (2 Corinthians 1:1-11)

Identify the possible sources of the hardship we’re currently experiencing. Hardships may come into our life because of: life’s troubles in this fallen world, God’s discipline, training in godliness, the cost of discipleship and following Jesus, the consequences of bad or foolish decisions and actions, or God’s judgment of a nation. Humble ourselves before God and ask Him to show us which of these sources is behind the hardship we’re going through right now. If we discern that we are suffering now because of sins or mistakes we’ve made in the past, keep in mind that God never allows hardships into our life simply to punish us, but only to correct and train us. Choose to repent of our sins and learn from our mistakes so we can enjoy a better life. If we discern that we are suffering for the sake of following where Jesus leads us, pray for the strength to continue to follow Him, and know that He will reward us in heaven our faithfulness. Repentance is very important. We see what Peter says in Acts: “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God”. (Acts 2:38) A word about repentance - Many think the word repent means "to get your act together" or to "get religion" or "fly straight"; as if we could. Repentance requires taking in a whole new point of view; looking at it God's way. God simply asks us to turn. This is the way we accept His gift. When we do, certain outcomes are promised. If we don't, or we "turn back", alternate outcomes are promised.

Follow God’s will. Don’t waste our time and energy trying to search for God’s will for us in the midst of our tough time, as if it was a hidden mystery. We can already know God’s will for us in the midst of any type of hardship: God’s will is for us to grow into a closer relationship with Him that translates into displaying Christ-like behavior regardless of our circumstances. Recognize that the problem is not that people have difficulty figuring out God’s will and what pleases Him; it’s that they tend to ignore what God has already told them (in the Bible) during tough times. Decide to follow God’s will for us to develop more holiness in our life during tough times. “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)

Ask the right questions so we can make the right choices. Whenever we’re facing decisions about what to do during a tough time, we need to ask ourselves: “Is the choice I’m considering contrary to what God says through the Bible?”, “What are my motives?”, “Are physical or emotional conditions (such as fatigue, hunger, or stress) inhibiting my ability to make the right choice?”, “Will this choice become a burden in my life?”, “Will this choice be a stumbling stone to others in their faith?”, “Will this choice honor God?”, “Will this choice impact your church and service within the body of Christ?”, “How will this choice impact my family?”, “What advice do godly people I know give me about this?”, “What does common sense tell me to do?”, “Do I have peace about doing this – and why or why not?”, “Am I getting ahead of God and not trusting Him?”, “What have I learned from past experiences that I should apply to this decision?” and “What do I believe God wants me to do?”

Spend time with God often through prayer and reading the Bible. During tough times, it’s especially important to stay connected to God through prayer and reading His Word, the Bible. Pour out our prayer requests to God with the confidence that He cares and is always listening, but make sure that we’re asking God to do what He knows is best for us rather than just trying to convince God to do only what we want. Ask the Holy Spirit to help us bring our prayers into alignment with God’s desires for us. Get Biblical truth into our soul regularly by hearing, reading, studying, memorizing, and meditating on the Bible. The Bible says we should “pray about everything” (Philippians 4:6) and to “Never stop praying.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) Joshua 1:8 says this about reading the scriptures: “Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it.”

Receive the peace that Jesus offers us each day. Make a daily habit of looking beyond what our tough circumstances to Jesus – and accepting His invitation to receive spiritual peace that transcends the hardships we’re currently encountering.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)