My thoughts for this morning…
When we face tribulation, misfortune, adversity and set-backs, our natural inclination is to want God to just take it all away. We don’t want to hurt. We don’t want to struggle. We don’t want our lives interrupted.
Our inherent tendency is to ask, “WHY?…Why me?” That is our self-sufficient identity talking here. The ego. The one who does things on our own and we don’t need any stinkin’ help, ever. We are independent and we don’t need anyone. Just leave me alone!
This version of ourselves plays the victim and gets bitter when adversity happens. We get angry. The petulance that grows inside of us like a weed begins to take over and we are never the same afterwards. With each tribulation, we become more and more aggrieved.
We ask for no help, but then get mad at God for not taking it all away so we can go back to our lives before the difficult times. We feel alone.
We forget what God has told us so many times.
He is here with us ALWAYS. Not sometimes.
He is OUR help and OUR shield. Not “a.”
He holds us up with His right hand. He won’t let us fall.
When we are dependent upon him, we show Him that we trust Him. When we trust him, we understand that no matter what, He will always be there…right beside us, comforting us. When we realize that He is always there, we don’t give up. When we don’t give up, we remain strong in Him because we realize that something great is going to come out of all of this.
Then things aren’t so bad…are they? You gain confidence that no matter what, you will be OK. You will get through this and be even stronger after because God is with you and He is on your side. You might not be the same afterwards, but a newer, better version of you will blossom from your pruning. You 2.0. 3.0. 4.0….I think I might be on version 21.0.
Sure, God can take your troubles and setbacks away…but what good would that really do for you? He is using your struggles to make you stronger. Character development. Your faith grows wider…deeper… each time. When you don’t give up, you become stronger.
It is when we are knocked down that we are closest to our breakthroughs of where God wants us to be. Our greatest victory. Greatest testimony.
When you realize that having childlike dependence does’t make you a weakling, you won’t look at adversity the same way ever again. God could give you perfection, but he prefers you to have progress over perfection. He also totally gives us more than we can handle…it is called life. However, He tells us that we CAN handle it…when we have a relationship with Him.
Thank you so much for reading today. I hope that I made you smile and think a little bit. Be sure to check out my Podcast on iTunes and Stitcher —- Jen’s 10 G’s