Growth Through Pain

Life can be hard.  Sometimes we make bad decisions that lead to trouble.  Other times trouble seems to seek us out for no apparent reason.  We struggle, grieve, suffer, sometimes we fail badly…..and we often try to hide it because we don’t like to admit weakness……but we are all weak.  We all fail sometimes.  Accepting that is the first step in growth.  Jesus himself said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick…….For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:12-13).

For some, the thought of having our weakness seen brings enormous shame.  The weakness may show up through loss of a relationship, loss of a job, depression, alcohol or drug abuse, sexual problems, financial strain, or any of a thousand other common challenges people face.  Sometimes when we fail, we begin to think of ourselves only in terms of our failure.  Even though we may not admit it out loud, the thing we are most afraid of, or most ashamed of, becomes the defining factor of our self-concept.

Instead, we need to learn to see ourselves as we are seen by God, our Father.  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”  (read 2 Corinthians 5:17-21).

It is hard for us to accept our weakness or failure in the first place, but once it has become undeniable, then we have trouble accepting the solution!  But because of Jesus, his life, death, and resurrection, we are able to look past the failure, past the problem.  I’ve heard it said that when we begin to live in the solution, the problem goes away.  The power of God in Christ is that solution.

When we find richer, more meaningful life on the other side of our suffering, we become uniquely able to help others when they are struggling.  “…..The God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”  (2Corinthians 1:3-4).

If you are hurting in some way, and don’t experience the comfort  that comes from knowing you have peace with God through Jesus, then let me encourage you to humble yourself and pray right now, confessing to God that you are guilty of living apart from Him, ask for His forgiveness, and receive the gift that cannot be earned.  If you do that, then why don’t you contact me and let me know.  I’d love to pray for you and hear your story.