I have been there. I have prayed until my knees had permanent imprints from the flooring on my skin. I have cried out with my face on the floor, begging God to give me what I thought I needed.
It was then that I experienced what I think is the hardest thing to accept. The answer no!
It hit me with the breaking force of spring tornado in Alabama, then there I was, stranded on a path that I had never been on before and frankly didn't recognize. I was now headed on a journey that I hadn't asked for. I thought to myself, "Why are you here? What did I do wrong?" Those are paralyzing questions.
Friends, I believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. And I believe the apostle Paul when he writes that "affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope." His words give us a guide to living a life of endurance and hope if we only humble ourselves, listen to them, and put them into practice.
So in that moment of paralyzing fear, I got up and shook the dust off my feet and with power that can only come from Christ alone, I took the aching step forward down this dark and strange new path. The farther I walk, the easier it becomes because the muscles that I hadn't used before are growing stronger than I ever knew they could before. It is amazing to me that when I get tired God gladly picks me up and carries me on the path.
There are still times when I have to dig in and scale a giant hillside but the view that I get when I reach the top is greater than it ever was from the easy path that I was on before. God continues to show me that the picture He sees is much greater than I could ever imagine.
If you remember only one thing I say today remember this: We travel the path in the valley so that when we climb to the top of the mountain we will remember where it is that we came from and be thankful for the journey.
“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5:3-5 ESV
It was then that I experienced what I think is the hardest thing to accept. The answer no!
It hit me with the breaking force of spring tornado in Alabama, then there I was, stranded on a path that I had never been on before and frankly didn't recognize. I was now headed on a journey that I hadn't asked for. I thought to myself, "Why are you here? What did I do wrong?" Those are paralyzing questions.
Friends, I believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. And I believe the apostle Paul when he writes that "affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope." His words give us a guide to living a life of endurance and hope if we only humble ourselves, listen to them, and put them into practice.
So in that moment of paralyzing fear, I got up and shook the dust off my feet and with power that can only come from Christ alone, I took the aching step forward down this dark and strange new path. The farther I walk, the easier it becomes because the muscles that I hadn't used before are growing stronger than I ever knew they could before. It is amazing to me that when I get tired God gladly picks me up and carries me on the path.
There are still times when I have to dig in and scale a giant hillside but the view that I get when I reach the top is greater than it ever was from the easy path that I was on before. God continues to show me that the picture He sees is much greater than I could ever imagine.
If you remember only one thing I say today remember this: We travel the path in the valley so that when we climb to the top of the mountain we will remember where it is that we came from and be thankful for the journey.
“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5:3-5 ESV
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