In a Hole with a Shovel
So I realize this post title is very similar to the one below it. I promise it's not because I'm unoriginal or boring, but because GOD IS AWESOME and taught me a great lesson yesterday about trying to get out of the holes you're put in, and it just so happened to correlate with the title from a previous post, so out of curiosity I just happened to read the post, and it was exactly the message I needed to hear as I'm sitting here in this hole. (Disclaimer: not actually sitting in a hole. It's a metaphor, people.)
Do you sometimes just hate going through crappy stuff? Like really despise it. Like you've been sobbing all day about something and it even made you break down in a Goodwill changing room sad. For example. I hate being sad because I look up to heaven through mascara-filled tears and mutter "God, why? Why are you letting this happen?"
Then I feel dramatic and silly because scripture talks a lot about hardships, and how they're all for our benefit in the end. They're giving us character, and building up our perseverance.
Romans 5 says, "...we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."
And when Paul writes to the Corinthians about his previous struggles in becoming a follower of Christ, he writes:
"...Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
-2 Corinthians 12:7-10 NIV
If suffering causes us to become people of better character, who can persevere better and who have more hope, then why are we so complain-y about it? If Christ's power is made perfect by our weaknesses, and these weaknesses can actually make us stronger, then why do we still get upset so easily?
I'm going to blame this one on human nature... we don't have the perspective God does, especially when we're in the thick of our issues. They seem like it's the end of the world, and God says His perfect world hasn't even started yet. His thoughts are so high above ours that we just WON'T fully understand the struggles we're going through sometimes, and that's okay. We have to be okay with that or else life seems like a ridiculous, never-ending streak of unfathomable struggle.
The reality is that because the earth is broken, we fall into holes every now and then. Sometimes they're no one's fault, and they just exist because of how imperfect this world is. So we fall into them occasionally, and then we find ourselves in the middle of hardship, and the bottom of a dark hole.
And just so I don't sound too optimistic, let me first begin by saying HOLES SUCK.
I was once told that you have two choices when you're down there, though. You can either choose to sit in the hole and complain about how horribly dark and wet and uncomfortable it is, or you can pick up the shovel and try to get out.
I was recently doing the first option. I openly admit it, and without being redundant, it was a really dark place for me. Doing the first option is awful because when we're pessimistic and temporarily without hope, it's really easy for satan to convince us that there really is no hope. (Which isn't true, by the way.) We get convinced of lies that only sink us deeper into the hole. It's almost like the hole is filled with quicksand, if we choose to just sit there. We just sink deeper, and deeper, and this can be very dangerous it goes on for too long.
So let's talk about the second option, then. You're sitting in the hole and there's a shovel next to you, and you decide that you've been sinking for too long and you want to get out. When you choose to see times of hardship through hopeful eyes, you can transform the "random" hole into a well-planned lesson that God is teaching you, something that makes you more like Him.
And most times, these lessons are not super obvious when you're in the hole... they may not ever be, until the day when we're safe in heaven looking back on life with God. That can be frustrating, but please don't let it take away from the fact that it's still for your bettering! God is always working for your good. I don't believe God digs dangerous holes for His children to fall into... that would contradict the loving nature of Himself. But when we do happen upon the holes, God doesn't go away. He doesn't turn His back on you and let you sink farther than He can reach, because THERE'S NO DEPTH THAT IS TOO DEEP FOR HIM TO REACH.
And Paul doesn't just urge people to be okay with suffering, he calls us to REJOICE in hardships. I know that is so unbelievably different from the approach that the world tells you to take, but if you'd rather sink into dangerous levels of metaphorically accurate quicksand, then that's your choice. With God, there's a shovel. There's a rope, even. Maybe there's even a ladder. God knows what you need to help you through something, and I'm positive that with your eyes fixed on Him, there's no hole He can't take you out of.
Start to see your struggles as lessons, and your hardships as blessings for your bettering. You probably won't understand the lesson for a while, and you may not ever understand it. But the blind trust, (or faith, in other words) is enough to get you out. You don't have to understand what is happening or why it's happening, you just have to trust God is good, and if His hands are working in the problems we face, then it'll all be okay one day. It's definitely not a switch you can just turn on and off in your brain, (believe me, I've tried,) but it's somewhat of a process. You can start the process today.
God,
This world is filled with holes, but we want to stop complaining about them. Help us to stop falling into them, but help us realize that it happens sometimes. And that You are there through it all. Give us the tools it takes to have faith in hardships, and we thank you for these opportunities to become more like You. We love and need You.
Amen
Do you sometimes just hate going through crappy stuff? Like really despise it. Like you've been sobbing all day about something and it even made you break down in a Goodwill changing room sad. For example. I hate being sad because I look up to heaven through mascara-filled tears and mutter "God, why? Why are you letting this happen?"
Then I feel dramatic and silly because scripture talks a lot about hardships, and how they're all for our benefit in the end. They're giving us character, and building up our perseverance.
Romans 5 says, "...we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."
And when Paul writes to the Corinthians about his previous struggles in becoming a follower of Christ, he writes:
"...Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
-2 Corinthians 12:7-10 NIV
If suffering causes us to become people of better character, who can persevere better and who have more hope, then why are we so complain-y about it? If Christ's power is made perfect by our weaknesses, and these weaknesses can actually make us stronger, then why do we still get upset so easily?
I'm going to blame this one on human nature... we don't have the perspective God does, especially when we're in the thick of our issues. They seem like it's the end of the world, and God says His perfect world hasn't even started yet. His thoughts are so high above ours that we just WON'T fully understand the struggles we're going through sometimes, and that's okay. We have to be okay with that or else life seems like a ridiculous, never-ending streak of unfathomable struggle.
The reality is that because the earth is broken, we fall into holes every now and then. Sometimes they're no one's fault, and they just exist because of how imperfect this world is. So we fall into them occasionally, and then we find ourselves in the middle of hardship, and the bottom of a dark hole.
And just so I don't sound too optimistic, let me first begin by saying HOLES SUCK.
I was once told that you have two choices when you're down there, though. You can either choose to sit in the hole and complain about how horribly dark and wet and uncomfortable it is, or you can pick up the shovel and try to get out.
I was recently doing the first option. I openly admit it, and without being redundant, it was a really dark place for me. Doing the first option is awful because when we're pessimistic and temporarily without hope, it's really easy for satan to convince us that there really is no hope. (Which isn't true, by the way.) We get convinced of lies that only sink us deeper into the hole. It's almost like the hole is filled with quicksand, if we choose to just sit there. We just sink deeper, and deeper, and this can be very dangerous it goes on for too long.
So let's talk about the second option, then. You're sitting in the hole and there's a shovel next to you, and you decide that you've been sinking for too long and you want to get out. When you choose to see times of hardship through hopeful eyes, you can transform the "random" hole into a well-planned lesson that God is teaching you, something that makes you more like Him.
And most times, these lessons are not super obvious when you're in the hole... they may not ever be, until the day when we're safe in heaven looking back on life with God. That can be frustrating, but please don't let it take away from the fact that it's still for your bettering! God is always working for your good. I don't believe God digs dangerous holes for His children to fall into... that would contradict the loving nature of Himself. But when we do happen upon the holes, God doesn't go away. He doesn't turn His back on you and let you sink farther than He can reach, because THERE'S NO DEPTH THAT IS TOO DEEP FOR HIM TO REACH.
And Paul doesn't just urge people to be okay with suffering, he calls us to REJOICE in hardships. I know that is so unbelievably different from the approach that the world tells you to take, but if you'd rather sink into dangerous levels of metaphorically accurate quicksand, then that's your choice. With God, there's a shovel. There's a rope, even. Maybe there's even a ladder. God knows what you need to help you through something, and I'm positive that with your eyes fixed on Him, there's no hole He can't take you out of.
Start to see your struggles as lessons, and your hardships as blessings for your bettering. You probably won't understand the lesson for a while, and you may not ever understand it. But the blind trust, (or faith, in other words) is enough to get you out. You don't have to understand what is happening or why it's happening, you just have to trust God is good, and if His hands are working in the problems we face, then it'll all be okay one day. It's definitely not a switch you can just turn on and off in your brain, (believe me, I've tried,) but it's somewhat of a process. You can start the process today.
God,
This world is filled with holes, but we want to stop complaining about them. Help us to stop falling into them, but help us realize that it happens sometimes. And that You are there through it all. Give us the tools it takes to have faith in hardships, and we thank you for these opportunities to become more like You. We love and need You.
Amen
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