GROWTH is the serious endeavour of
ardent Christians. They know it’s life’s purpose.
Without growth we rescind.
Fortunately, God has a great plan for our growth!
And difficulty is His key instrument. God uses difficulty to train us.
Oh, how I wish I could always see it this objectively!
Difficulties have had their role in
my life, and will continue to. In some situations, difficulties verified my
character as relatively true. God gifts us all mastery over some difficulties, sometimes to test our
pride, and where we’re found wanting, highlighted are the need for deeper difficulties
yet to be revealed and experienced. In other situations, my difficulties proved
exasperating, even overwhelming. Some broke me. A few have done that
day-in-day-out, over months or years. Sure, losses fit firmly into this
category, but also a plethora of other everyday annoyances that piqued my pride
and caused me to see, through my fears and frustrations, where I still have
room to grow.
Ill-handled difficulties made me
aware of cavernous gaps in my maturity.
These are the difficulties God foresaw
for my growth, and He sees them worthy to fit to me. I have observed the hard
way, many times, there’s no use
resenting a difficulty’s existence. Indeed, the opposite perception is blessed;
difficulties when embraced.
When difficulties become less
difficult there’s the evidence of
learning, growth and maturation.
The way we take difficulties, and the way we respond to them, is where God’s
Spirit speaks most poignantly. We only need to hold the truth by faith, that He is for us, never against
us, to see this.
Difficulties are not a curse; they’re
actually the avenue to eventual blessing.
Difficulties have a purpose of
training us in patience, a fruit of humility, a blessing of resilience.
Patience is behavioural, observable,
within us as we reflect, as much as
it’s noticeable to others. Patience is a virtue of Jesus. Cyprian of Carthage
(200 – 258 ce) pled that “in
Christ a full and perfect patience may be consummated”[1]
in each of us.
One sign we’re overcoming a
particular difficulty — a symbol of real growth — is when we can laugh within the truth of such a trial. God
gives us this capacity. It’s no proud laugh. It’s a laugh that accepts we don’t
like it one bit; yet, we laugh because we can. It can even be, and often is, a
laugh within a cry, as we wrestle with the reality amid His goodness. It’s
possible as we face the stark reality, even when life has appeared to turn its
back on us.
So, as James says, consider it pure
joy when you face trials of many kinds…[2]
God is disciplining us — His sons
and daughters — through training.[3]
Because He loves us.
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