"Satan's angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn't think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me "My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness." Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become" 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (Message)
OK...now seriously...who SAYS that? Who seriously loves the hard times that come into their life...let alone faces them with good cheer? Well, I used to think that was impossible. But actually...now...I think it is possible. OK, maybe the 'good cheer' bit is a stretch, but my attitude towards hard times has changed over the last year.
In fact, right now I am going through a hard time. Typical case of heartbreak. If you have been there (and I would love to meet someone who hasn't!) I am sure you can relate to the feeling. That ache in your heart that you can't shake. The sick feeling. The inability to get out of bed. Yep...it would definitely be in the category of crappy times. Like it says above...it feels like Satan is trying to push you over and squash you down.
But...I think I am finally in a place with God where I allow the tough times not to push me over, but instead push me onto my knees and closer to God. Don't get me wrong...the pain is still there. And it hurts. But knowing that its probably these times more than any other that sends me running to my Father. Knowing that I never push into Him as much, depend on Him as much, cling to Him as much as I do during these times...is very powerful. Because it's there that you can truly feel His peace and comfort and stillness, even in the midst of the pain. You can even feel joy, which took me a long time to comprehend. Because, as I may have written before, joy is not the same as happiness. For me, joy is sensing God and his peace and love deep on the inside, even right in the middle of sadness.
I think that Paul was right in Corinthians. I think sometimes, as agonizing as the painful times are...they can be a gift. Because you can never sense God's peace, unless you first feel turmoil. You can never sense His comfort, unless you first feel sorrow. You can never feel His presence, unless you first feel loneliness. You can never feel His strength, unless you first feel empty and weak.
I may not go as far as saying I look cheerfully towards crappy times. I would certainly like to keep them to a minimum in my life! But...they do allow you to experience a depth with God like no other time. I hate what I feel right now...but at the same time, I love how close I feel to God. I love knowing that He is with me during this time. That he hasn't left me. That He is with me every step of the way through this journey.
Click here...Came To my Rescue song (Hillong United)
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