Listening to the Holy Spirit:
It is in the strain. Little growth happens any other way. For I do not bring ease to those who follow. Adversity in My measure brings strength; without such there can be no growth. Even he on level ground will slow, and he who does not strive, rolls backward to death. The Father calls each upward. In each path there is obstacle – detriment, but there is no danger for he who follows where I lead. Appearance is not as it may seem. Man measures the obstacle; I measure the growth. Ease and pleasure are of the world. He who gains much in these, gains little in eternity. True faith allows obstacles to be little, for the eyes of the Father see not the strain, for in the strain there is adequate support, but in the upward call, strength is gained by resistance. A child without perishes for weakness. You are called to strength, therefore, to the obstacle – but not alone.
James 1:4 (NIV) – And let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Rom 8:28 (ESV) – And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Taking It to Work:
What times in your life did you grow mentally, spiritually or physically stronger? How about intellectually stronger? Good teachers know, and I have had many. They push, they challenge, they pile on the work stretching your mind to think, reason, and understand.
I’ve had good coaches too, who pushed me to be faster, stronger, to run the obstacle course with agility and stamina. They put me under loads that were beyond me, and made me carry them farther than I ever would on my own. I had leaders at work who gave me assignments and teams that stretched me, and technical issues that drove me back into books, research and trial-and-error till finally a solution was found.
The easy times never grew me, and good leaders and counselors, especially if they see potential in you, will push you to be your best, and then some. They know that challenge, struggle and adversity, in almost every realm of our humanity, is good for us. They push us hard, and help us just enough, not to make it easier, but that we barely get through it, and end up stronger.
Our ultimate Counselor, our ultimate Leader knows that too. Often as Christians we feel that our path should be made easy by our Lord, and we thank Him often when it is easy. What we fail to see is that struggles are often His best long-term blessings. If you’ve been a Christian for very long, history will show that the times you’ve grown the most in your faith were almost always in times of hardship.
And that’s our focus for today. We need to see our situations for what they are; they are opportunities to get better, stronger and faster, both spiritually and mentally. Without spiritual eyes, at first blush, problems just seem like problems. But when we look at them with eternal eyes, knowing that this life is not a random spattering of good and bad, but a life planned from long ago, with a God that helps us carry what we think we can’t, then we see those same problems as stepping stones of our spiritual growth.
It’s a hard focus to maintain, but when we pray for patience, you can expect God will send someone or a situation that is annoying, or slow. If you pray for wisdom, He’s likely going to send you some reason where you’ll need to seek it. If you want to be a stronger leader for your family or team at work, you can usually expect challenges that will step up your game.
The bottom line, our Father knows we don’t grow strong in an easy chair, and if we’re honest, we know that too. We need to see our situations for what they are. They are an upward call to become the men and women we were created to be. It’s not easy, but it is in perfect measure, and with just enough help from a perfect Lord and loving Father, as His Word works in you, today.
