Bridging the Gap
“And everything I’ve taught you is so that the peace which is in me will be in you and will give you great confidence as you rest in me. For in this unbelieving world you will experience trouble and sorrows, but you must be courageous, for I have conquered the world!”
John 16:33 TPT
I love how this translation states it, “For in this unbelieving world you will experience trouble and sorrows, but you must be courageous, for I have conquered the world!” In this “unbelieving” world that we live in, if we are not extra careful, we will be sucked into trouble and sorrow.
It is no wonder we encounter situations that we wish never had happened to us. There are probably countless numbers of ladies who have had things done to them and are still struggling to overcome it. You get to the point that you feel defeated and that it is no longer just a temporary struggle, but you begin to believe that it is a permanent condition.
As I sit here and process this thought, a visual of two mountains comes to my mind. The mountains are separated by a huge valley with the only thing connecting them being a tattered, broken down rope bridge. One side of the mountain is “fear” and the other side is “freedom”. As you are standing on the side of fear, you can look over and see the other side, freedom. You so desperately just want to get there! It seems impossible though because the only way to bridge the gap is to reconstruct the bridge.
Reconstructing the bridge wouldn’t be hard if you had a Helper, and lucky for you, you do. Before you know it, your Helper has begun to lay down new boards on the bridge. The Helper is making a way for you to cross over to freedom. But in your fear, you lose confidence in your Helper. You see things wrong with the boards. You don’t think they appear strong enough, you don’t think they will hold you or they aren’t laid the way you think they should be laid. So, in your fear, you begin tearing back up the boards, only for your Helper to have to start all over again, and only to result in you still being stuck on the side of fear even longer. In your frustration, finally, you hear your Helper whisper to you, “you must be courageous, for I have conquered the world!” You wonder, how can I be courageous when I have been wronged? This is what I felt God whispering to my heart, “You have to love the offender more than you hated the offense.”
So how do we ever bridge this seemingly impossible gap? How do we ever learn to love the offender more than we hated the offense? How do we gain this confidence and courageousness that we so desperately need? How do we ever make our way from fear over to freedom?
You have to have confidence in your Helper and when you have confidence in your Helper, you will be courageous! We have to allow the boards to stay intact. In our fear, we can’t allow ourselves to take up one more board! Those boards were laid in faith and trust and we can’t allow fear to tear them back up. We have to have the faith and trust in our Helper, that the way He is making for us is safe and will hold us. Why can you have confidence and trust in your Helper? Because He has already won the victory, He has already overcome the world. One commentary I read says:
“He is the captain of their salvation, and has already won the victory. The enemies they fear, the world in which they have tribulation, are already captives following in the Conqueror’s train. They themselves have pledges of victory in and through His victory.” Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
Ladies, your temporary struggle is not a permanent condition! You have a Helper, and He is in the process of building you a safe path to freedom. You just have to put your fear aside and begin walking the path of victory. Be courageous as you step out in faith onto the path. Have confidence as you trust your Helper to take you into freedom.
Music for You: Stand in Your Love by Bethel Music
