By Mark Maher
Within our struggles, we find God’s grace. We all have weakness and it’s the ones who thrive in failure that keep growing. Well-managed failure is a leading cause of resilience. Becoming is not about the arrival, it’s about the journey. Falling down is inevitable, but staying down is optional.
“And The Lord said to me “my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
Nothing draws me closer to Christ than challenges. It’s become the conduit to His grace. It’s when I draw the closest to Him. It’s where I gain a new perspective. It’s where another dimension of his grace is found. I’m starting to relate to Paul when he said for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses and challenges.
“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:17-18).
It’s almost like Christ says to me “you’re not alone.” I’ve always said not everyone needs to know your problems, but one person does. For me that one person is Christ. God is revealed as El-Roi, “The God Who Sees Me.” (Genesis 16:11)
Psalm 46:1 tells us that God is a “very present help in trouble” so we grieve with hope, never abandoned. He’ll provide wisdom and strength through the small, quiet voice.
God will often allow you to encounter an impossible situation in order to prove His presence in your life. Before you will see a change in your situation, you will often first see a change in yourself.
God uses adversity to reveal Himself to us in new ways, always abounding. 1 Peter 1:6-7 “In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which perishes, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
Don’t doubt in the dark what you know to be true in the light. Maybe this is why we should train for the trial we are not yet in. Somehow, someway, God usually has a way of escape. Follow the relationships.
In the middle of the storm, we look for God. He meets us where we’re at. Isaiah 43:2 says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.”
The light will come after the dark. God is faithful. Keep faith in God that you will get through this and find strength on the other side. “When heaven wants to affirm you, it doesn’t use opportunity it uses opposition. The struggles you overcome reveals your purpose. God is conditioning the unconditional worshiper in you. Are you a reactive or proactive praiser? Don’t let the circumstances dictate your praise. God is after your heart.” Travis Greene
The trouble will not last. “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!” (2 Corinthians 4:17)
Never Lose Hope
