God Has HOPE For Us!

“Why is this happening, why is this taking so long, when is this going to end, how long does God want me to be alone and suffer?” Are the questions most often asked, and the answers most often heard are: because they are lost and their hearts are hard.

 Over time, hearing this same message over and over just doesn’t cut it, doesn’t make sense anymore because many things come in and challenge why their hard hearts, and being lost can justify why we have to be subjected to so much suffering. 

Subjected to years and years of being rejected, lonely, treated unfair, slandered, and having your character assassinated, only to be told IF you are called to stand for their healing and the restoration of your marriage then you have to believe it’s because they are lost, blind, and their hearts are hard. And if you have hope for restoration, then this is your cross you must bear, suffering is part of it, worth it, and only supposed to be for a little while, only they don’t really tell you the truth about what “a little while is” and you are shocked to come to find out that for some, that suffering has been going on longer than 5 years.

The keyword is subjected. It means that you are placing yourself UNDER something else. In this case, you are subjecting yourself to God and giving Him control of your life. But are you?

To fully subject yourself to God with a good attitude and not begrudgingly, you have to fully believe that He loves you, He cares deeply about you, His motives are pure toward you and not meant for harm, and that He really does have a plan and purpose for your life. If you are lacking in any of these areas, you will have a hard time subjecting yourself to God because unbelief, fear, or lack of trust will interfere.

Many approach standing for the restoration of their marriage with a stand that they will only continue until their spouse divorces them or marries the other person. For some, when they have a child together that is the quitting time. And for others, they ended their stand because they just got tired and fed up. So you have to ask, were they really being subjected to God and HIS will? Or were they standing in hope while still being in charge of their own life? 

For some, they really were subjected to God. And so much growth and change took place in them. God developed a great relationship with them, and they love and depend on Him. But now, something has changed. A deep frustration and pushback is taking place in them. This is what happens when it’s been many years of wandering in the maze of Standing where they seem to be turning so many corners blindly. Still have hope that God is going to restore, but at the same time, becoming irritated that they will most likely hit a dead end after getting their hopes up. They pass by the emergency exits to this maze knowing that to leave would mean they would have to choose their own will and give up being subjected to God in this part of their life. These emergency exits become so temping that it causes guilt and that produces distance from God. 

Subjection is a VERY powerful tool that God uses to bring man into adoption with Him.  God’s Word says that AGAINST man’s will, they are subjected to a life of futility which makes God HOPE that because creation is placed into subjection to emptiness, purposelessness, instability, it will drive them to Him, they will turn their will and subject themselves to HIM, the living God that gives fulfillment, purpose, stability, and security. 

This subjection is not done to HARM a person but to get us to a place where are fully surrendering to the Lord because you can’t love the Lord God will ALL your heart if you are still withholding and keeping back part of yourself for yourself. God wants ALL of you. All your trust, your belief, your faith, your confidence, and your heart. 

Romans 8:20 says that creation was put under, subjected to mataiotés(-frustration. vanity, emptiness, unreality, purposelessness, ineffectiveness, instability, frailty; false religion.) not by its own will but because of the One who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of decay, into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

Everything about Standing is designed to teach us about subjecting ourselves to God’s will and submitting our own will. Laying down our lives, killing the flesh, surrendering only to wake up the next day and do it again. And it’s because there is a greater purpose and message at play here, one that only time will reveal. 

Barns Notes Commentary has this to say about Romans 8:20 

it gives the assurance that all things shall work together for good, since all things are connected with the purpose of God, and all that can occur to a Christian comes in as a part of the plan of Him who has resolved to save him, (Romans 8-Barns Notes Commentary)

When I was finally able to grasp that every horrible, wretched thing I was enduring, and the amount of time it was taking was ALL part of the plan of HIM who was trying to save my husband’s soul, trying to save my soul, trying to get us out of darkness, into the light so that we could be called sons of God…………..I started to finally understand subjection and “not my will God, but Yours.” 

Not, “Your will God until we divorce, they marry and have a child.”

Not, “Your will God until I get burned out and tired, become too lonely, and decide I want to move on and find someone else.”

THAT is not subjection. 

And subjection is not a simple choice that we make but a lifestyle that gets tested and challenged. Many of us are only willing to submit and subject ourselves only so much and when we come to that maze of frustration, it could be because we are being tested again about what we are willing to give to God.

Are we willing to keep enduring the suffering, all because “They are lost, and blind? What about me? When is it going to be MY time of reaping?” These are all very real things that come out in that maze that we have to wander through. It can make us feel confused, lost, irrational, and angry. 

God doesn’t want us wandering in a place of confusion. He doesn’t want us feeling frustrated, angry, and lost. But if we are struggling with submitting ourselves to His greater plan and purpose, and are fighting to get Him to move faster to ease our suffering, that maze of frustration just maybe where we wind up until we surrender and give in that God is going to let how long it takes to save their souls happen regardless of how impatient we become. 

He doesn’t leave us powerless or without help to endure everything that we go through. He provides and meets all our needs. BUT if we come to decide that this is second best and we won’t put up with anything less than what we have been hoping and believing for, then we are allowing our frustrations to wreak havoc on our relationship with God. Pride? Self-pity? Selfishness? All these things that we still have inside will come forth to challenge Standers who have been standing a long time. These are the crossroads I have talked about. Where you have come to a new place in your walk with God where again, you are being asked to choose. Your will……………or His. 

Standing with you,
Sheila Hollinger