How Long is a Little While

The struggles, challenges and trials in life have a way of making you feel there is no end to the tunnel. Transitioning from one place to another can be like a wilderness journey. Frustration is like a blanket of darkness covering you so there is no sign of a light. What do you do? An onslaught of questions keep coming, but you have no answers. You are told to be patient just a little while longer. But the lingering question is how long is a little while? Keep reading to find out the outcome.

The Question

Unashamedly, I admit, over fifteen years, I asked consistently, “Lord, how long the pain of betrayal, broken relationships, grief from the loss of loved ones and possessions going to last? When will the struggles end?” Needless to say, He did not give me a specific timeframe. Instead, He always reminded me of His Word. GOD’S WORD After a while, I stop asking how long and started rehearsing the promises He had given me. My attitude changed. The more I meditated and spoke aloud His Word over my life and situations, the more God’s peace replaced my anxiety. Still, there were nights I cried myself to sleep, even while rehearsing the promises.

Like me, have you looked for the light at the end of the tunnel and wondered how long your troubles would last?

Just know you are not alone while traveling through your tunnel a little while longer.

I posted the following status on my Facebook page some time ago when I was in my time of struggles.  Reading it sometime later in the week was like getting a burst of energy from an energy drink.

Your suffering is temporary. Go through the “making” process.

“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” 1 Peter 5:10 NIV.

Context

During the time Peter wrote to the Christians, persecution was not just confined to the churches in Asia Minor. Christians were suffering from intense persecution almost everywhere in the known world of that day because they were preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ. Peter wrote to remind and console them and us, too. The Holy Spirit inspired him to write and encourage them to emulate those who had successfully gone through the test of suffering. It is to surround yourself with people who have successfully endured some dark days of suffering and can offer you the encouragement you need to stand firm.

Suffering on this earth—although it appears to be endless—is temporary. It is so easy to focus on the uncertainty of the time we will suffer. Only God knows the duration of our sufferings. He sovereignly defines the ‘little while’. No one’s time of suffering is the same. Remember Job? He suffered the loss of all things, including his health. Through it all, he held on, even enduring the criticisms and misunderstandings of his friends.

Your suffering is temporary. God through the “making” process.

The duration of your pain will be different from others, but the focal point should not be the timeframe. The focus is on the promised outcome after the set time (little while) of suffering is completed.

After you have suffered a little while, here are four (4) things the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, promised to do:

• Restore you.

Whatever was broken or missing, He will mend and repair so that you are complete. However long you suffered, afterwards you will be restored.  Your restoration may be physically or spiritually.

• Establish you.

  Suffering affects our mental health; our thoughts are usually focused on our condition and circumstances. It’s easy for spirits of depression and oppression to control our thinking. God will make you stable in your mind; you will need mental stability. He will make you strong in mind. A strong and stable mindset is essential to your well-being physically, emotionally and spiritually.

• Strengthen you.

  Suffering affects you emotionally; therefore God will make you firm in your emotions. Where you are emotionally weak and unsteady, He will strengthen your soul.

• Settle you.

  Because your whole being has been shaken by your suffering, God will settle (establish) you. He will lay again a firm foundation to uphold you so that you are stable in all your ways, not wavering, but confident in the God of your salvation.

Conclusion

Yes, the struggles in life has a way of making you feel there is no end to the tunnel. Yes, darkness seems to cover you like a blanket with no sign of a light. BUT GOD is with you and if God is with you, it doesn’t matter how long. What matters is that you are not alone.