Accepting Hardship
I fret like a child when things are not going my way; (Psalm 37:1). I whimper and whine in my discomfort. I complain and cry out with indignation. Why me, O Lord?
This present crisis in my life is exactly that sort of time. Enforced separation from friends and family, canceled or postponed activities, and physical pain distracts me from my purpose. I feel cut off. It is hard to see outside of my own discomfort. It is challenging to see this hardship in a positive way.
I am not meant to be a baby or a little child all my life. God called me to a life of broader meaning. My mother and father enjoyed my precious infancy (I’m told). They were proud and amused by my toddler antics. But they did not want me to stay that way. They supported God’s will for me that I would pass through the fretful, colicky days of childhood and grow into a mature and godly man. God means for me to be transformed from a physical and emotional obsession into a spiritual and sanctified image of Him.
The hardships of life are demanding. They cry out for my full attention. They exert relentless pressure to attend to their demands. They are small demons of distraction that take my focus off the path of purpose, (the straight and narrow way).
But these hardships are not the evil that blocks my way. That evil is the one who bets with God against my soul (Job 1:8-12). Will I grasp and rely on the promises of God, or will I take a convenient remedy for my pain? Will I allow the difficulties to strengthen me, or will I give in and despair?
O Lord, will you activate your Spirit in me to see this present crisis as a benefit to my soul’s development, my mind’s transformation into the mind of Christ? Will you help me to look up into heaven and see that this physical world is unworthy of my best efforts? Will you enable me to devote my sorrows to motivating my renewal of faith in service to you? Thank you! I know you will, Lord, amen!
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:2