No Good Way Out

October 22, 2016

Last week I was watching "Closed Circuit" on Netflix and there was a conversation that happened between the two main characters that stuck with me. The lady turned to the man and said, "There's no good way out of this." A lot is going on in my corner of the world at the moment. A lot more than I can ever put into words here.

I've been putting one foot in front of the other and reaching out to my closest friends to talk through things and to make sure that I know they're praying. I've been reminding myself that God is in control and that He is good and that He keeps His promises. I've been listening to music that will help me keep my eyes on Him and sermons that remind me that unkowns are not as powerful as I often think they are.

If I'm honest, I just want out.

I want the suffering to be over. I want to be free. I want the ones I love to be loved. I want rest and peace and unity for all of us. And yet...That might not be what God has for us. That terrifies me. He might mean for the suffering to continue or even to increase. He might mean for freedom to look like the opposite of what I've been begging for for so long. He might want the ones I love to be hurt over and over again by the ones that are supposed to love them so that they know just how precious His love is. He might mean for the rest and the peace and the unity to be a thing we are always hoping for.

Betrayal is hard. Abandonment is terrifying. Broken promises sting.

Suffering is a given in this life. We will disappoint one another. We will hurt one another. We will make poor choices and suffer the consequences. Sometimes, we won't suffer those consequences alone. Unexpected things that are outside of our control will come our way. We'll grow tired and weary and we'll feel weak. We'll want out.

Like the man and the woman in that silly little movie, I've come to realize that as much as I want out, there really is no good way out of this. At least, not that I can see or arrange.

So, here I am. Pushing in. Pressing on. Waiting on this long night to pass. I don't know if there's a way out, but I know there is a way through.

There's grace for TODAY and there will be grace for every single day after this one.

If you've found yourself wanting out and knowing that there's no good way out and fearing what might be just around the bend, rest in the promise of that grace. The One who knows you and saved you and does all things for the good of His people and the glory of His name has you in His hand and no one and no circumstance can pluck you out of it.

You might not be able to find a good way out, but there's rest in knowing that He gets His people through.