It's Friday now.... but Sunday's coming.

Dear God,

If you must hit me over the head with a 2x4 to get my attention, please do it good and hard the first time, because you know I can be stubborn and I'd just like to avoid having to go through it all again. And again and again and again...

Amen

A dear friend of mine shared with me a prayer much like that one. And I get it. I don’t always like it, but I get it.

I’ve been blessed with the gift of “adaptability”. It’s great in many respects – plans changing at the last minute don’t usually cause me stress; interruptions in tasks I’m trying to complete don’t generally frustrate me; and all of life’s little hiccups are merely opportunities to engage my creative thinking abilities. But sometimes my ability to adapt so easily in certain circumstances also prevents me from learning the lessons God might be trying to teach me in those times.

So occasionally I require an all-out blow to the noggin.

And that’s not fun.

In those times, I find myself in a place of brokenness, with nowhere to go but to God.

Brokenness looks different for everyone. We all have our own personal limits – the extent to which we can handle things that come up in our lives on our own. And God takes us to those limits. And then he takes us past them. Because he wants us to remember that it is only through him that we will find true strength. We gain nothing by relying only on our own abilities.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. (James 1:2-3)

My brokenness comes through trials of many kinds. Not one big trial, and not trials here and there – but a sudden onslaught of difficult trials of many kinds. Financial struggles that leave me feeling hopeless; relationship struggles that leave me feeling wounded; parenting struggles that leave me feeling powerless; even heart struggles that force me to recognize that I’ve been relying on idols rather than God. Ouch.

And I know I’m not alone in saying that these trials don’t exactly elicit “pure joy” from my heart! But I realized something… that verse doesn’t say I have to feel pure joy in the midst of my trials. It just says I have to consider it. The dictionary defines consider as to think carefully about; to contemplate; to reflect on. That’s a little easier for me to wrap my heart around. I can think about joy. I can contemplate joy. I can reflect on joy. Even when I don’t feel joy. Because the feelings of pure joy will eventually follow, just as James goes on...

Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:4)

When I allow God to test me, and when I respond by trusting in him, I give him the opportunity to produce in me a maturity and a completeness that only he can accomplish.

He never promised me I wouldn’t have pain. In fact, he promised exactly the opposite. But he also promised that he’d see me through it and that ultimately, he had already conquered it for me anyway. All I have to do is trust that he’ll get me to the place where he’s already waiting for me.

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

And if nothing else, these trials have given me a greater and deeper appreciation for the cross. On this Friday, we remember the immense and unimaginable suffering and death of Jesus. For us. For me. So that I could stand blameless before the Father. I don't deserve his grace, but he gives it to me anyway. Because of Jesus. And on Sunday, we will celebrate the miracle of the Resurrection.

Without his death, there is no resurrection.

Without my suffering, there is no redemption.

It's Friday now.... but Sunday's coming.