Lads to Leaders

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Have you ever been in the middle of a dark time in life and wondered why God would allow such a bad thing to happen to you? I think most of us have. However, God can use hardships for the good by helping us grow spiritually and in humility. This leads us to rely more on God and less on ourselves. The bible tells of many people who went through many hardships and trials. At the time, they could not see the good - only the pain and suffering. However, in the end, blessings arose from the pain and the grace and protection of God could clearly be seen. These situations arise in our lives as well. God can always use all situations for the good by allowing them to help us grow and rely on Him.

Sometimes in our lives, when we face trials and suffering, God uses these hardships to help us grow spiritually and physically. Even though it might be painful and will hurt us, God can use our suffering for good to help us mature and develop our faith as Christians. Romans 5:3-4 states “we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” When we suffer we need to know that good can come from it and not complain, but rejoice. Hardships can also help us overcome things that we face in life and help us prepare for the future. We need to try to learn from our experiences and use them to grow our faith and character. James 1:2-3 tells us “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” Trials and tribulations bring out good characteristics in us such as endurance, patience, and steadfastness. These then manifest in the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). God allows hardships in our lives to help us grow our faith.

Hardships and suffering also help us come closer to God and rely on Him. When things are going good for people, they tend to forget God, rely on themselves, and give themselves credit for the blessings in their lives. When we suffer and face trials, it humbles us and makes us realize how much we need God. In 2 Corinthians 12:7 Paul said that “because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.” God gave Paul this “thorn in the flesh” to keep him humble and to remind him that he is just a man, and that God is greater than him. When we are faced with trials, we need to cast our cares and worries on God and rely on God to help us through just as 1 Peter 5:6-7 says “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” God is always with us and when we are going through hard times, God will be right there with us all the way through. Hardships can help us humble ourselves and bring us closer to God.

We have to always remember that whatever we face in life, God can mean it for good! Trust in this promise and look for the rainbow behind every storm.