“[God] comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times to that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us.” -2 Corinthians 1: 4 (The Message)
As Max Lucado concludes Chapter 5 of You’ll Get Through This, he presents five opportunities for us to respond positively to God’s training:
1. Address a hurt when you see it. Compassion matters to God. Our pit experience is a time for service, not self-centeredness.
2. Share the message God gives you. We didn’t sign up for this crash course in ministry downsizing or vocation loss. God enrolled us so that we can teach others what He has taught us. Our mess can become our message.
3. Ask God “what” rather than “why”. Pastor Lucado states that we should ask God to use our circumstances to change us, as opposed to asking God to change our circumstances.
4. God delights in our development. He doesn’t relish our suffering.
5. Our struggle is preparation for life, not an interruption to life. Hebrews 12: 8, 10 (The Message)- “This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training, the normal experience of children . . . . God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God’s holy best.”
Today’s question: As you travel on your healing journey toward revitalization and revisioning of your calling, what is God showing you about how your mess can become your message? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “In God’s waiting room”