“Our valleys may be filled with foes and tears, but we can lift our eyes to the hills to see God and the angels.”- Billy Graham
Following our ministry downsizing or position loss, we’re likely to feel isolated from friends/colleagues and that we’ll never recover from our devastation. In Chapter 16 (“What If Healing Comes Through Tears?”) of Blessings Laura Story asserts that healing indeed can come through tears, and that God uses our temporary pain for His eternal purposes and our spiritual growth.
Amidst our devastating loss, however, we may have difficulty focusing our thoughts on God. We may even turn our thoughts far from Him. Yet it is during such desperate times that we need to be intentional in affirming the truth that God is everywhere, even closer than we think. Laura notes that as we quiet our souls and turn our prayers to Jesus, we are free to sense His presence and peace. Then we will start to realize that God has a plan for spiritual healing and growth designed specifically for us. Charles Stanley comments that adversity is God’s most effective tool for our transformational growth:
“The circumstances and events that we see as setbacks are oftentimes the very things that launch us into periods of intense spiritual growth. Once we begin to understand this, and accept it as a fact of life, adversity becomes easier to bear.”
Today’s question: How have you launched into a period of intense spiritual growth? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Our plan vs. God’s plan”
