Admit it. You and I want to pick out even the tiniest bit of hardship from our lives and throw it away. We download apps to avoid waiting in lines or how to evade people or. How can we steer clear of situations that are difficult to deal with? We pray for quick healing, safe travels and smooth circumstances. Then there are Godzilla size trials such as serious illness, financial ruin, death of a loved one and broken relationships. We universally want to avoid what is hard, whether it be big or little.
BLESSINGS IN DISGUISE
Abby Harberstadt wrote the book “Hard Is Not the Same Thing as Bad”. Athletes around the world, women who give birth and those who recover from surgery would agree wholeheartedly that just because something is hard doesn’t make it bad. Arduous workouts lead to athletic success. Hard labor gives us children. Corrective surgery cuts away what is diseased and brings us back to good health. Those are certainly hard things, but not bad things. They are blessings in disguise.
GREAT THINGS THROUGH THE HARD STUFF
God accomplishes great things through the hard stuff of life. Like physical muscles, our spiritual muscles get stronger with repeated, regular use and training. Heavy weights and big hills are a necessary part of the process. The Holy Spirit uses challenging circumstances which give birth to and strengthen our character. When we submit to God’s scalpel, He cuts away ugly parts of us and shapes us to look more like Jesus–the ultimate critical surgery.
DEEPENING OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
Trials and tribulations in life are a major component in each of these processes. Paul writes, “But we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Romans 5:3-4).Beyond maturing our character toward Christlikeness, struggles deepen our relationship with God.
GROWING IN TRUST
When my husband and I trained to work with foster children with attachment issues, we learned that caring for children when they are sick or injured deepens their attachment to their caregivers. It helps them to learn to trust. As God holds us close and cares for us through painful circumstances, we can know Him in a manner we cannot learn any other way. We become more attached to God in a fashion that defies words. Our trust of Him begins to permeate the deepest parts of our hearts.
CONSIDER IT JOY
James tells us, “Consider it pure joy by brothers and sisters whenever you face trials” (James 1:2).This does not mean we must have happiness about trials, but that we can live through them with biblical joy. Joy is a deep settled confidence that God is in control of the details of our life.
This attitude speaks volumes about Christ to the world around us, as they watch how we handle trials. We also experience joy as we take time to remember adversity; searchand acknowledge ways God uses it to change us. Be intentional about thanking God for these blessings in disguise and the fruit they produce. “Hard is not the same thing as bad.” Hard can be good, even if it takes us a while to realize it.
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