A friend recently shared this link with me called The Cross Walk, and it's very cool and inspiring to look at when life seems to be too challenging to handle. “We complain about the cross we bear but don’t realize it is preparing us for the dip in the road that God can see and we cannot.” –The Cross Walk
See the Cross Walk article here .
I find this to be especially true when we try to bargain with God saying “if you just take away this sorrow or hurt in my life, then I promise I'll pray more, or give offering more, or read my Bible more.” We forget that just because we're Christians does not mean that we get a free-pass through life. God still gives us challenges, but with faith we can rest assured that there is a reason behind every challenge we face, whether we can see it now or not. God puts people and events in our lives to teach us, comfort us, challenge us, and shape us. He doesn't give you the just the things you want, He gives you the things you need; He never gives us more than we can handle, and if you feel like you're drowning then give it all to God and lean on Him for help and understanding.
It's something so much easier said than done- as humans we are made to think we can, and should, deal with things on our own. We think it's our job to make life easier for ourselves, and then put God as second in both command and as a last-resort for help. But if we bring all problems to God, while at times it doesn't seem like He's listening or lightening our burdens, it may be that we later find a certain experience that had caused so much hurt and struggle then, has now prepared us for a new challenge we are facing, or has given us a testimony to share with friends, co-workers, or non-believers. I am a firm believer that God has a plan for everything- every challenge, every person, every experience all adds up to this crazy existence we call life, and when we're having a dark day or rough couple of weeks, it's good to look to God and remember that His plan is great and all-knowing, and that the darkness will end, and when it does there will have been a reason to the suffering.
“God alone knows exactly what you and I must endure in order to form His character in us. It is in our trials that God refines us and removes our impurities. Like refined gold, when we pass through our trials, people will see His perfect reflection in us.” -Wendy Blight
