Nevertheless

Nevertheless

Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever.

“I’M GOING TO QUIT.”

Mom’s eyes bulged at my whispered words.

In my anxiety-induced panic, I’d driven one hour and twenty-six minutes to arrive unannounced at my mom’s office door. As her door swung shut behind me, I verbally vomited all the ways in which I couldn’t handle law school and needed to quit—one week before my first semester finals—before dissolving into a heaving, sobbing mess.

I’ve often thought of that young woman desperate to escape the pressure, the hard work, the stress, the perceived looming failure, wanting her mom to give her permission to quit. If I could, I’d promise her the degree would help others, and that there was a cute classmate named Aaron who was going to notice her the next semester and ask her out. If she quit, she wouldn’t meet the love of her life.

Today’s word is a promise that our hard circumstances are momentary. Chapters 7 and 8 of Isaiah are a warning to the nation of Israel that the Assyrians would overrun and carry the Israelites off into captivity. But chapter 9 begins with the word nevertheless—an assurance that their despair and destruction is temporary, that the Messiah’s Kingdom is on the horizon, that there is hope.

Nevertheless. I have breathed this word over my life so many times since ambushing my mom at her office almost two decades ago. I have walked through far more challenging seasons than that first finals week—some in which I had no choice and some in which I did—but the lesson has remained the same: this hard thing is not forever. God does not leave our story stuck in destruction and despair. He moves us through and beyond to new life, oftentimes using parts of that difficult circumstance later for his glory (see Romans 8:28). When I find myself in untenable circumstances, I no longer turn immediately to thoughts of escape. I pray, I do not lose hope, and I whisper nevertheless as I wait.

Lord, what circumstances are we seeking to quit when you’d tell us to stay with a nevertheless, a prayer, and hope? Amen.

-Julie

One Good Step: Confess your temptation to escape a tough situation to a faith mentor —a pastor or a godly friend—who will give you trusted, biblical advice and come up with a plan for sticking it out.