One thing that surely equalizes us, and it’s the fact that we all face difficulties. Many will pretend to be strong but they cry behind closed doors. Yet, the truly strong will know that strength is not the absence of weakness, but rather overcoming it. Often our challenges take up most of our attention, keeping us focussing on our problems rather the solutions. Amidst this reality, we must focus on the things we really want to happen, and not the things we are trying to get rid of.
Perhaps the greatest determinant factor of our life is our mind. This is because our thoughts usually determine the direction in which we travel. The scripture says; “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” This means that we cause the things we focus on to get bigger and much more evident. In other words, we give life to some problems just by thinking and focussing on them. Many times the problems we experience only exist in our minds, and are far from reality. It really doesn’t matter what we are going through, it is what we view as problems that will be problems.
It really doesn’t matter what we are going through, it is what we view as problems that will be problems.
What we view as problems can also be viewed as blessings
The most difficult roads we travel are often the most rewarding ones. When we pass through the valley of the shadow of death, our weakness will cause us to depend on the great strength of God. Our challenges are often the agents that summon the resurrection power of our great God. It is also when we are void of our own strength, that we can in turn take possession of the strength of God that He has vested in us. As a result, our weakness is perhaps our greatest blessing, because whatever leads us to the strength and the power of God is a blessing.
One thing we should also be mindful of and it is that we usually treat our problems they way we view them. If we view our problems as problems, then we will act as victims and we will allow our problems to continually harm us. If on the other hand we view our problems as agents of change, and as situations that are seeking to make us better, then that is what they will be, agents of change, and situations that will make us better. It is as a result very important for us to have the right perspective when dealing with our challenges. A challenge can be a channel of growth, or a channel for tears, based on what we decide and think about it. Let us decide the course of our lives, and choose to see life through eyes of faith, rather than eyes of fears.
The truth is that it doesn’t matter how we view our difficulties, we will have to face them. I want to therefore share some of the reasons why difficult times are often the most empowering ones, with the hope that you can be encouraged beyond your challenges. It is all in your state of mind! Let us have a look.
1. Difficult times are life's training ground
Consider an untrained athlete, or an unskilled technician. Would any of these individuals be able to make it through the most difficult moments in their careers if they are not properly trained? The truth is that the road to where we are going begins on training grounds. That’s why when we are hired we are first trained, and we also go to university to be trained. Training will qualify us for the roads ahead, that can be very unpredictable and unbearable. Yet training makes us unbreakable, and helps us to predict possibility.
Many people look at the small events and disregard the bigger picture. The battles we face can also dim our sights, and prevent us from seeing beyond the dark clouds of despair. Yet when our sights are dim, the bright bulb of heaven will shine down to save us. When our hands are feeble, it is the strength of God that sustains us. The Apostle Paul knows this very well. In his anguish he called out to God to help him. Yet God’s response was this, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” This for Paul was the training ground of God. The battle you go through is also your training ground, and your faithful response should be “when I am weak, then I am strong.”
2. We most times grow in difficulty
It is up to each individual whether they will allow their difficulty to mow them, or to grow them. There is a popular saying “what doesn’t kill me will only make me stronger,” which is quite synonymous with “a thing can either break me, or make me.” Don’t let your difficulties put you down, or knock you out, and don’t ever be overcome by the struggles of life. These same struggles are fertilizers that can be used to nourish your growth. Don’t be tricked into believing that God positioned your difficulties to defeat you. On the contrary, God positioned your difficulties to empower you, and to grow you into your fullness.
Maybe you are going through a difficult time in your life, and it seems like you have been overridden by your circumstances. The good news is that you are a flower of God, and the great news is that God is a perfect Gardener. Maybe what you are going through is pruning, or maybe God is cutting you back, to set you forward. Often a gardener will prune their plants of unwanted branched, and sometime the gardener will have to remove a whole section, in order to promote healthy and sustained growth. How much more of a wise Gardener is the Most Wise God. Don’t you think that God knows what He is about? I pray you find the humility to trust Him, and that you will stand firm as you grow into the miracle of God.
3. A challenge is just a channel for growth
What we see as a challenge might be our greatest channel for growth. In fact all of our difficulties can be channels for growth. As I said earlier, it is what you view as problems will be problems. It is all in what you believe and allow to find root and sprout in your life. Walking an unfamiliar territory can be quite difficult, especially amongst devils and perils. Yet in the valley of the shadow of death, God is with us, and He will use our challenges to grow us. Don’t you be discouraged, all victory and power is yours when you believe it.
You have the power to choose what you accept. Don’t accept defeat. You are only defeated when you accept it. Press through you challenge, no matter how insurmountable it appears to be. Set you vessels and be watered with the lessons that are taught on the training grounds of God. Be strong, and challenge your challenge in faith.
Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
4. Difficult times helps us to be more loving, patient and kind
I often say that some of the most kind and tender hearted people are usually some of the people who have been hurt or are hurting the most. The true fruit of difficulty is love, and love is patient and kind. Difficult times can cause us to become resentful, angry and bitter, yet we must endeavour to be more washed, as we row the troubled seas we many times experience. God did not place our difficulties to break our character but rather to build us to be more like Him, and God is Love.
5. Our Difficulties Keep Us On Our Knees
Consider that it sometimes takes a difficult situation to bring us closer to God. When we are broken, our need becomes so great that we have to seek divine strength. In these times our knees become bruised because of our petition, yet bruised knees appease God. If we look at the scriptures we will see that all of God’s servants have had to endure their share of brokenness, and they all fell on their knees to pray. It is not that they didn’t have other options, but it’s that they found that God was their only true source of strength.
Is the challenge you are going through weighing you down? Fall down on your knees and pray. God is able to empower you to endure to the end.
Conclusion
As we conclude, let us decide to trust God as He walks us through the trials of life. The truth is that God knows what He is about, and God will work it out. Let us look at our difficulties from a place of faith, seeing the end that it is good. The choice is always ours, whether we will allow life to break us or to make us. Let us chose to be made by the careful hands of God.
Be Blessed!
