Some years are really good and some are really hard. I know many people 
who had a very hard 2009. I can relate. For me, it was the presence of physical illness and the ongoing frustration of failing health, a new diagnosis of heart disease and relational issues that just about pushed me over the top.
Add in adult kids growing fully and leaving the nest, transition and change in ministry, the hurt of feeling misunderstood…and the sum is a hard year indeed.
But, the question that is rolling around in my little head today is….Is hard really bad?
The immediate answer is probably, YES!
We don’t like hard. We are conditioned in life and culture to go for easy. We like easy routes, easy assignments and quick fixes. How can we help it? It is part of the fabric of the culture that we were raised in. So hard seems intolerable and we do whatever we can to get out of hard and find our emotional easy chair…soft, comfortable, non-confrontive. We long to be happy. We long to feel fulfilled. We long to have our every need met. We long….yes we long….for unrealistic levels of personal fulfillment and physical blessing.
The truth is, life is sometimes hard…and, hard can be very good. It is in the hard places of life that God gets our attention and we give Him ours. It might not happen at the first pass of a hardship, because it’s in the first pass that we try with all our might to make hard go away. We try to fix things and when we can’t fix things we distract ourselves with other pleasures….food, drugs, alcohol, relationships, activities, material things. Some of us even hide ourselves by distracting ourselves with “ministry work”. It , as the other things, can medicate the pain for a time.
But truth be told, God uses HARD. God has hard places within the journey of human life. He could of left us in paradise, but he didn’t. He placed us in a world that is imperfect, with people who are imperfect, and uses the whole environment of life…to draw us back to Him and His power, His majesty and His ability to be the overcoming power in our hearts.
I will leave it with the words of Jesus. Ponder them, allow them to speak to you. Memorize them. Let reality sink in and then live your life, today, as if God’s reality is the truest most trust worthy reality that exists.
“I’ve told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world.” John 16:33 The Message
Now from James: 1:2-4 The Message
“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. you know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”
So…I’m thinking. Looks like from a spiritual perspective, hard is good and even a gift. I should not try to wiggle out of hard too soon, but instead learn from it.
Praying God’s blessing on your day and new perspective on your “hard” places.
with you In Christ,
Debbie
Between The Rock and a Hard Place (I get dibs on the title!) Glad you’re back on the blog! Missed you!
Debbie, your words are so true and God’s affirmation in His Word was perfect for me today. Be encouraged, your sister in Christ in Columbus, GA is praying for you and thanking God for your words that have uplifted my soul this day!
Spot on!:) So glad to have you there in 2009!:) Love how you give voice to this journey.
I really like hearing other’s feedback, so if you keep joining me, share with me what God is doing in your life. It is the sharpening of each other’s faith that makes life more beautiful and rewarding.
with love,
Debbie
Debbie,
So delighted to see you back on your blog!
Praying God will continue to make you(and me)more like
him each day, even if it means “hard”. God is really
who He says He is. He can be trusted. The “sweetness of communion with Him” is worth anything.
Blessing to you, sweet sister in the Lord.
I am praying for your continued healing and health.
Perfect timing to hear about hardships. I am clinging to THE ROCK during a challenging relationship with a family member. Each hour I’m challenged with my own perspective vs. God’s perspective on the other person.
Thanks for being so transparent Debbie, it helps to know others have hardships and life is not perfect.
THANKS DEB FOR THE WISDOM YOU SHARE ON THIS HARD LIFE. YES, I DO PREFER SOFT AND EASY BUT THAT HAS NOT BEEN THE COURSE FOR ME EITHER. I AM SURE ALOT WOULD SAY AMEN! I HAVE FOUND THAT IT IS ONLY WITH ALL MY BROKENNESS THAT MY HEART COMES CLOSER TO GOD AND I LISTEN MORE ATTENTIVELY. SO IN LOOKING BACK MY FINAL ANSWER IS THAT I TOO WOULD NOT TRADE THE HARD.
IT IS ALL A GIFT AND OUR GOD ONLY GIVES US WHAT IS BEST FOR HIS KINGDOM.
Thank you for words that touched my heart during these hard times for my family and me. It made me reach for my Bible and really search my heart. Knowing God uses “hard” in our lives for good gave me much needed comfort. God Bless You!
Debbie, Thank you so much for the wisdom, knowing that God is really in control for our good. I believe that in our weakness as he has said in his word that his power is made perfect for us to overcome hardships , frustrations or imperfections in life. And yes, by his GRACE the best is yet to come no matter how hard it may be. God Bless You.