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3 REASONS WHY TOUGH TIMES
ARE GOOD TIMES
those
lonely and fearful moments are the times when we feel Christ’s tangible
presence - a person who has been blessed abundantly in this world and who has
had his prayers answered soon would never have the privilege of knowing Christ
at a deeper level as a broken-hearted man would - blessings
would never allow a man to grow
in Christ - but suffering does
Soumya
Renew Thy Mind
You
have heard it before: God has a purpose in our lives, through our pain and
problems too. But what is it and why?
Okay,
so this might sound like an offbeat advice to us Christians to the point that
some of us don’t really want to hear it.
Why,
because the pain has been too painful and problems that don’t seem to go away
has made us so weary to hold the baton of faith.
Encountering
tough circumstances by itself is a tough terrain to walk on. So then, you may
ask me what I asked myself: How can you say it is good?
As
you read further, I will share with you what the Holy Spirit has been teaching
me in the midst of pain, problems and unanswered prayers.
But
when tough times become the dawn and dusk of our lives, it leads us to that one
question: Where is God?
Is
He oblivious to our needs or has He forgotten us?
The
feeling gets worse when we see God answering the prayers of the people around
us while we continue to wallow in our troubles.
Which
is why writing this post itself has been challenging for my faith but all the
more necessary.
It
seems pain and problems are allowed by God. And there are three major 3 reasons
for this:
#1: Passing the Faith Test
I
think I can give you a better perspective on this by the story of the
Israelites passing through the wilderness elaborated in the book of Numbers (Numbers 11, 20).
Keep
in mind that before the wilderness journey started, these people and their
ancestors had endured a whopping 450 years of slavery, hard labor and cruelty
under the Egyptians.
What
might appear to be quite unfair to further undergo the wilderness walk, the
bitter waters of Mara (Exodus 15:23) and so on was God’s plan (And if you read Genesis
15:13 you will also know those 450 years of slavery was also God’s plan!).
The
land of Canaan was their destination as commanded by God.
Their
land was blessed with all possible resources but they were a godless nation
filled with sin that God had to punish them.
His
plan was to bring His people to that land but it required a sense of godly
discipline from them too.
The
wilderness was the training period of the Israelites before they set foot on
the land of Canaan.
If
they did not mature as children of God, they were bound to lose the very land
that God so easily gave into their hands by falling into all sorts of traps and
sins laid by their enemies.
The
test of suffering reveals our present relationship with Him. It also makes room
for improvement.
It
allows us to examine ourselves in Christ or else we would never be growing.
#2: Relying Wholly on Him
Even
though we pray to God, we often rely on our own strength and our own knowledge
to tackle everyday issues.
So,
when such a problem arises in which we find ourselves helpless, we have no
choice but to rely only on God.
David
knew the secret of this which is clear from the book of Psalms.
Reliance
on God means more time to be spent in God’s presence and understanding how God
works on a deeper level.
In
the meantime, we develop the fruit of the Holy Spirit which is patience (Galatians 5:22).
#3: Growing Deeper in Christ
It
is more than living a life of worldly blessings.
Yes,
it is important to God that our prayers be answered and that we are delivered
from troubles. But needless to say, living in Christ is about living for
Christ.
It
is our very relationship with Jesus that serves the purpose of our lives. It is
what defines our faith.
“Abide in Me as I abide in You. Just as the branch
cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you
unless you abide in Me.” -John 15:4
Bear
with me on this analogy: You and your bestie had a small argument.
Would
that one fight hinder you from talking to your friend ever again? Would you not
rather forgive and get back together because you love your friend so much?
Now,
Christ has not forgotten you.
In
fact, He is evermore present in your problems that He wants you to grow into
Him so that you can prove that your love for Him does not end when the worldly
blessings end.
He
wants your love to be genuine.
Strangely
enough, those lonely and fearful moments are the times when we feel Christ’s
tangible presence than those times when we were in our comfort zone.
What
I learned during my tough times was that it was a unique opportunity that few
possess to have an even more intimate relationship with Christ.
A
person who has been blessed abundantly in this world and who has had his
prayers answered soon would never have the privilege of knowing Christ at a
deeper level as a broken-hearted man would.
Blessings
would never allow a man to grow in Christ. But suffering does. And that is why
it is permitted in our lives.
In
my next post, I will share with you regarding the don’ts during the tough times
that we must be aware of. Do share your thoughts on this topic in the comment
box below.
God
bless!
Hey, Soumya here. Thanks for
checking out my blog Renew Thy Mind.
SO WHAT’S RTM ALL ABOUT?
This is the place where I
share my spiritual experiences with you and what the Holy Spirit has taught me
so far, that we may learn together to possess an intimate and personal
knowledge of Christ. As a young adult myself, I wish to cover the usual
questions and doubts we all have when we have just arrived at the bay of our
Christian life.
