The Gift Of Hard
The moment our child is born we scoop them up into our arms. As we search their little bodies looking at every toe and finger, counting them making sure they are all there, we are in wonder. How could this little perfect human have come from me? We are at awe because from those first moments we are certain we would give our very lives for them. No question.
We sit with them when they are sick, stroking their faces, soothing their wounds, and giving them reassurances we are there. There is nothing we would not do for them. As I sat with my son this week after his horrific surgery, I looked at this now grown up child and thought there is no question I would have endured this for him; without a doubt. I would have done just about anything to spare him this pain. Even being in pain for him.
I was overwhelmed with the epiphany that my Father God looks at me with this same wonder and delight.There is nothing he would not do for me no mountain he would not climb, and no price he would not pay to get to me. He is after all my Father. Why do we think he feels any different about us than we do about our own children?
Although we would do that it might not be the best thing to do because we need the pain. Pain gives perspective and perspective gives us a better picture of the purpose. It’s so easy to judge everything and everyone because we never have the whole story. We don’t see the why of the situation. God’s word states in Ecclesiastes 3:1-3, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build.”
Each part plays a vital role in our understanding and development. We cannot fully appreciate joy without knowing sorrow. If all we knew was plenty how could we empathize with someone in lack? God stated there is a “time” for both. So we must need both. God does not inflict pain on us to teach us anything. The hard and the evil do not come from his hand but is overseen by his eye. He uses it all to teach us many lessons we could not learn a different way.
I’ve been through some tuff stuff…so have you. But it’s only AFTER that I could appreciate the lessons of those seasons. Boy have I learned some amazing things THROUGH those unwanted times. I can honestly say I am a different person for having endured. I am only changed because I chose to embrace what happened and not run from the pain. I chose to let it hurt, process my emotions though it and learn.
As God oversees the trials we all face I have no doubt his Father heart breaks. It is never his will to see us suffer. But because of our choices or someone else’s choices for us we are presented with opportunities. Our Father carefully attempts to help us embrace their lessons.
It’s really just a choice. We can let the enemy destroy us through what we are facing or we can let God bring beauty from the ashes of what wasn’t. If you are facing a difficulty, ask the Holy Spirit to show you it’s value, to show you how extract the good from it and grow through it. I promise you it will be worth the effort to trust God.
Father I pray for every person reading this today. That you would take their pain and turn it for good. Show them who you are through it. Reveal the lessons they can find if they search for them. Comfort them in it and draw them into your arms of grace. Bring your peace that passes their own understanding.