There is an After

“Don’t forget that in the difficulty of today there is an after.”
Loren Thornburg

“I didn’t know there was an afterwards.” More than once this phrase has poured out from the heart of someone recalling a hard season of life.  After is a period of time following an event that can often be hard to see or even imagine.  When things are hard it seems consuming and impossible to fathom things ever being any different from how they are at this moment.  Yet, it’s true, there is light at the end of the tunnel.  There is an afterwards.  It’s hard to know this is true until you have walked through a situation that seemed hopeless and seen the afterwards that felt like an impossibility.  Still, there may be another season of life that seems even more unbearable.  However, it is still true in that place...there is an after.  So keep walking, keep believing, and keep hoping for one day at a time you will find your after.  

“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace [Who imparts all blessing and favor], Who has called you to His own eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will Himself complete and make you what you ought to be, establish and ground you securely, and strengthen, and settle you.”

1 Peter 5:10 Amplified

The apostle Peter is writing to the church leaders to remind them there is an after so they can stand firm in the midst of hard times and difficult situations.  He is writing for us too, reminding us of God’s promise that not only is there an after but He is going to carry us through the suffering to the other side.  He will establish, ground, strengthen, and settle you.  God is a god of Hope.  This is hope: Whatever you are facing now or will come to face He will be in the middle of it to bring you to the other side.  Even more, He will complete you and make you what you ought to be in the process.  So walk into His blessing and favor that carries you to your after.