Hardship: Part 3
This is the third in a series on hardship. You might want to read Part 1 and Part 2 before diving into today’s post.
Looking back over my seven years of infertility, I can see how much God changed me through that particular hardship. As I break that down, think about parallels in your own life. Our world is broken. Hardships will come. The beauty of God is that he uses all things for his glory, even our most painful experiences. Here’s what God did for me:
Faith
For the longest time I lacked faith in God. I believed in him and in his goodness in my head, but not in my heart. My faith is so much stronger now because I see that God really does keep his promises. It means even more to me because I experienced spiritual healing before I had any clue whether or not I’d be a mother. God changed me, and then he went even further and brought my daughter into my life. My faith is so much stronger now that I have seen God’s abundance in my own life.
Many of us Christians lack faith. It’s easy to understand and acknowledge God’s power intellectually. It’s a lot harder to believe deep in our hearts that God is on our side. Walking with God through hardships is a powerful way to learn about God’s faithfulness and to strengthen our faith.
Courage
For so long I was afraid to admit how much I wanted a child. I was afraid of giving up control and admitting that I wanted something that I had absolutely no control over. I didn’t yet have faith, so I had to step out in courage. Taking six months to pray separately from my husband and then moving forward into adoption took a lot of courage. I would still be childless without taking those very scary steps.
Sometimes God calls us to take a step off a cliff even if we lack faith that he will catch us. Tremendous growth can take place in each of us when we answer God’s call and take that first step. Eyes closed, breath held, whatever. Just take that step and have courage that God will be there.
Clarity
My years of involuntary childlessness forced me to become very clear about what I wanted out of life. It made me think deeply about God’s plan and will for my life and how that trumped my plan (whether I wanted it to or not). Hardships can cause us to question a lot of things: our faith, our identity, our future. And because we often question these things during a period of hardship, our clarity around these very things can sharpen. I have a much greater sense of who and whose I am, and that clarity was honed through my years of hardship.
Perseverance
James 1:12 (The Message):
Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life.
‘Nuff said.
Strength
Hardships can develop strength like no other. I take the problems and opportunities life throws at me much more in stride now, because life has been so much harder before. Difficult conversation at work? Okay. Uncertainty about finances? I’ll be just fine. Upcoming root canal? Bring it on. (All right, I’m a little nervous about that one, but you get the idea.)
I’m not perfect at any of this, not by a long stretch. And I still harbor that little bit of doubt that now that I’ve publicly claimed strength, clarity, courage, and so on, I might be on the doorstep of the next big season of hardship in my life. But I really do believe that I’ll face it differently, having already been through some really hard stuff. I have to believe that the faith God carved out of my own personal hardship is lasting, and that’s a very beautiful thing.
So what has God created in you through your seasons of hardship? What is he creating in you now?
Post by Meredith.
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