When I was in high school, one of my friends would always say, “Tough times never last, but tough people do,” during our scorching-hot football practices in order to motivate us to push through and continue enduring the fatigue and pain that came with these grueling practices. He said it so often that the rest of us began to say it sarcastically and jokingly to mess with him about it. Looking back, maybe my friend wasn’t that far off.

The statement wasn’t technically true at the surface level, but what can it mean to us as Christians? What if the reason the “tough times didn’t last” was because, even in the most difficult circumstances, we can know that God is in control and that he is faithful? What if “tough people last” because we find our strength and our “toughness” in our almighty God?

These tough times don’t only have to be tough. By knowing and finding our worth and strength in Jesus Christ, we can do much more with these situations. I encourage you to try to find room to step back and look at your situation and figure out what you have learned or where you can grow through it. It’s tremendously hard, but it’s also so rewarding and can lead you to a better mindset.

This past March marked the one-year anniversary of my grandfather’s death. I had never had someone in my family die before, so this hit me very hard. I was definitely in one of the worst moments of my life up to that point. In the beginning, it was so difficult for me to think any other thoughts but those of sadness, grief and confusion. One night, through tears, I prayed to God for guidance through this time and for peace in my family. In the next couple of days, God moved through my life and my mindset and was able to bring to my attention many of the things that I learned from my grandfather. Throughout the many surgeries and heart attacks he experienced in his life, he demonstrated the greatest of these lessons: to know that God is always going to come through and will always be faithful to us. Because of this realization, I was able to have my eyes truly opened. My grandfather’s favorite song was the hymn Great is Thy Faithfulness, and now it holds a special place in my heart. Without trying to find the good in my bad situation, I wouldn’t have been able to be affected in the way that I was. This event changed my entire life in the fact that I now have no reason to fear or to worry, because God is and always will be faithful in every single situation.

A song that comes to mind with this topic is Greater Things by Mack Brock (Check it out, it’s awesome: youtu.be/XDKkC-Qv4Mw). I love the first verse of the song:

My life is built on Your faithfulness
My hope is held in your promises
I take each step with your confidence,
’Cause I am yours, I am yours.

I try to keep these lines in mind during my difficult moments — and for every moment, honestly. God is faithful and, because we are his, there is nothing that can separate us from his love and faithfulness. So, the next time a trial or struggle comes your way, rest in the fact that you aren’t alone. You have a big and mighty God on your side that will not only get you through this difficult spot, but can teach you through it as well. Once we realize these things, we can get a glimpse of God’s power and his amazing, never-failing love and faithfulness.