The Struggle is Real
June has been a whirlwind for me, actually the last few months. There are times, though, when I realize God was preparing me for exactly what I encounter. When this happens, I have only to smile, look up to the sky, and give a thank you to my creator. At times, I remember a distant struggle, something I came through, and I am able to lean on that understanding to face the current storm. Sometimes as Christians, we pray for something to go away - remove the pain, get me out of a situation, decrease the stress - not realizing that God is not going to answer that prayer. Why, why would He not?
When God "bails us out" we do not learn to be strong. There are times in our lives when it cannot be prayed away nor run from because it is not the situation God needs to change, God is trying to change you. It doesn't feel good in the middle of that storm, but once it is over you have come through and endured.
2 Corinthians 12:8-10 (NIV)
Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on 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. 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.
StartFragmentRomans 8:26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words.EndFragment
Romans 5:3
StartFragmentNot only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;EndFragment
StartFragment2 Thessalonians 1:4 That is why we boast among God's churches about your perseverance and faith in the face of all the persecution and affliction you are enduring.EndFragment
Do not focus on the storm clouds, their dark mass ... focus on the light, the guide, your God ... and he will take you through any storm. You will be stronger!
