“I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up.  Someone else always gets there ahead of me” (John 5:7, NLT).

The longer I walk with God, the more I realize that extended periods of difficulty can have adverse effects.  For example, the season you’re living through can become the season living in you.  Your circumstance can quickly look like your finale.

I sense that I’m writing to people who are living through a prolonged period of difficulty.  You’ve been in your circumstance so long that it seems like your destiny.  I hope this post will change your mind.

Where you are reminds me of a man Jesus met by a pool in Bethesda.  He had waited 38 years for a miracle that never came.  He became so engulfed by his obstacle that he almost missed a golden opportunity.  Thankfully, His story ended much better than it started!  He met Jesus at the end of those 38 years, and his life changed permanently!

I’m challenging you to look beyond your difficulties.  There’s a bright future just ahead, and you’ll find it if you focus forward.  Forget what has been, and get ready for what’s coming.  Or, as Paul so eloquently put it, “So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen.  For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever” (2 Corinthians 4:18, NLT).