I read these verses this morning and I needed to hear them..
Hebrews 12:7-11 (MSG)
7 God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children. This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training, 8 the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? 9 We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God’s training so we can truly live? 10 While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God’s holy best. 11 At the time, discipline isn’t much fun. It always feels like it’s going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it’s the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God.
So many times in seasons of struggle we forget that it’s in the challenge that God shapes us into the people He is calling us to be. We never enjoy the struggle and we always want it to end quickly but there is no denying that God takes what we think is a mess and makes something beautiful again and again.
Some of you are launching new ministries this fall and you feel the stress. Some of you are facing a hardships that you never dreamed you would face. Some of you are starting a new season of ministry and you’re still wiped out emotionally from a draining summer of ministry. No matter what you are facing this month remember that God is with you and working in the middle of the struggle.
Here are just a few truths I have to embrace when I face seasons of struggle…
- God walks with us through every situation.
- Every struggle is nothing more than an opportunity to see God work.
- Every struggle is an opportunity to become a better leader.
- God is working even when we can’t see what He is up to.
- How I lead in today’s season of struggle will determine my opportunities to lead in the future.