We all face difficulties, it’s a part of life, and it’s a part
of being a Christian. My boss was sharing a devotion in our Elementary staff
meeting this past Tuesday, and it has really stuck with me. I have definitely
referred to my notes a lot in the past two days, and I really felt God
impressing it on my heart to share the very words that encouraged me, in hopes
that they might encourage you too.

I have been walking through some pretty tough stuff
recently. God’s been showing me a lot lately. He’s been revealing to me what
defines true friendships as well as a few of the costs that come along with
being in ministry. I feel like God has been pruning friendships out of my life
that aren’t really supposed to be there for whatever reason, as well as opening
my eyes tremendously to the attributes of being a true Godly friend to others
in my life. He has also been opening my eyes tremendously to different
attributes that are important to implement in life to be a good leader as well
as what can be damaging to a leader. For whatever reason, God hasn’t been
showing me these things in the easiest of ways. I have had to go through some
pretty tough experiences, some heartbreak, and a number of times where my
feelings have gotten hurt. God has decided that the best way for me to learn
these important life concepts is to go through what I am facing right now. I
have spent many nights crying my heart out to God trying to figure out if there
is something I was doing wrong, something in my heart that was not right, that
would be causing me to be facing the things I am facing. I just felt like if
this is so hard, and every time I try to do the right thing things still go
wrong, then I must be doing something wrong, something inside of me must not be
lining up. Over and over again, I felt peace that I was doing the right thing
and that my heart was in the right place, yet still I didn’t understand why
things seemed so hard.

In the devotion that my boss shared during our staff meeting
he said something that was speaking straight to me in that moment. My boss was
talking about his search for sand dollars on the beach during his vacation, and
how even after hours of searching he still could not find one. He had searched
two years in a row for sand dollars, and still could not seem to find one.
Meanwhile, his kids were finding them like it was the easiest thing in the
world to spot on the beach. In this experience, God showed him three principles
that he could learn from this experience, but the last one is what stood out to
me the most. “Sometimes God allows you to go through difficult situations,
because when you get through those situations you will be much stronger.” Yes,
I know we’ve all heard that before, but it was the next thing he said that
really caught my attention. “I don’t think that every time we go through
difficult experiences, that it is related to what is in our heart. Sometimes it
has nothing to do with what we might have done wrong, but everything to do with
this being the way God has chosen to teach us or grow us in a certain area.”
I knew right when he said that third principle that this was for me. I have
spent so much time trying to figure out what it was I did wrong to have to be
going through something so difficult, but really it’s nothing that I did wrong.
Now don’t get me wrong, you should always search your heart in every situation.
There will be times that God is trying to work something out of you and you
cannot know what that is if you are not searching your heart. But sometimes it
has nothing to do with that, sometimes God just allows you to go through
something because of how much stronger you will come out on the other side.

Like I was saying earlier, we all go through difficult times;
it’s a part of life. You may or may not be facing some big things in your life
right now. You may or may not be able to make sense of why you are facing what
you are in the middle of. But despite your
difficult situation, God is still in control. Whether it is God working
something in your heart, and purging things out of your heart, or if it’s God
bringing you through difficult situations to teach you something and build a
stronger you at the end of it all – God is in control. I don’t believe that God
brings difficult situations on you, I don’t believe that He sits in Heaven and
says, “let me teach my son or daughter that they need to grow in this area by
putting them through the most difficult situation they can possibly face.” I
don’t believe that God says, “I am going to put my son or daughter through the
hardest thing they have ever been through just so they can learn what
friendship means or what being a leader is about.” It’s not God’s mission to
put us through difficult situations, but I do believe He allows them in our
life for a reason. Sometimes being in a
difficult situation causes us to draw closer to Him, possibly closer than we
would have if life was easy, which allows us to really hear what He is speaking
to us. We may not ever fully be able to understand why God chooses the
avenues He does to grow us, but it’s not our place to question Him or try to
figure it out. All we are called to do is to trust Him, because despite it all
He is control.

If you are facing some hard things in life, if you are in a
place where you have to make some tough decisions, know that you are not alone.
We all come to that place in our life, and I am sure we all come to it more
than once. You may be in a place where your family is falling apart, and
everyone you once trusted has let you down. You may feel like people you
thought were your friends, turned out to do nothing but put you down. You may
be broken hearted from the relationship that you were just in. You may not have
enough money to pay your bills this month. Or you may feel lost and alone.
Whatever it is in your life that is difficult for you, know that God is in
control. God has a plan for you at the end of this difficult situation; He
knows that you will come out stronger on the other side of this. For whatever
reason, God sees that this difficult time is going to do something in your life
that will grow you and cause you to be more dependent on Him. Embrace Him
through those difficult times, seek Him in difficult times, and most
importantly trust Him. Take comfort in knowing that if you stay close to Him,
when you make it through this you will be stronger. You will have grown deeper
and closer with God and into the person that He is calling you to be.