If you have children you quickly learn that there are life events that you wish you could shield them from, but you simply cannot because they must go through these things on their own in order to gain their own strength, to learn and to grow. Your job as a parent is to balance your level of intervention so that you don't create an unhealthy co-dependent relationship where you rescue your child out of every dilemma. When we do that we handicap them. We take away their opportunities to know their limits and their strengths. If we are not careful we can ruin our children's path to gaining the tools to deal with life's challenges. I truly believe this is why we have so many parents who wind up saying things like, I don't know she's on drugs. We gave her everything, or, He keeps getting into trouble with the law, but we've done all we know how to do. Our struggles come to make us. Some come to make us stronger. Some come to make us more courageous. Some come to teach us life lessons. Some of the things that we go through are not about us at all! All of the things we go through come to make us wholly dependent on God.
When we transpose this simple lesson on to our Christian lives we begin to understand why God allows trials and tribulations. We begin to understand why people that we love dearly struggle over and over with tough situations that we just can't help them with--it isn't our place. We understand why we wrestle with our own set of issues, habits, vices and addictions. The Word of God states, There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God [is] faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear [it]. I Corinthians 10:13.
When we transpose this simple lesson on to our Christian lives we begin to understand why God allows trials and tribulations. We begin to understand why people that we love dearly struggle over and over with tough situations that we just can't help them with--it isn't our place. We understand why we wrestle with our own set of issues, habits, vices and addictions. The Word of God states, There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God [is] faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear [it]. I Corinthians 10:13.
Think of it this way, a vessel is heated to make is usable, gold is burned to make it pure. We will be tried, but the trying is to bring us to a place where God can use us. It is to make us malleable and fit for the Master's purpose. How many times have you shook your head at a young Christian and thought, I remember when I was there. How many times have you prayed for a church member or a family member because they seem to be going through the same struggles over and over. How many times has your heart ached because of what you see someone going through or because of what you're going through yourself?
The fact is that we must endure those things that God allows knowing that God is well aware of what we and others can bear, but He is more concerned about the end result.
Make it up in your mind today to stand still, to remain under--not always taking or making the way of escape, to endure the test and to respond differently today than you did in the past. Today when you face your struggle begin to praise God and raise your hands and give Him glory in the middle of it all. Your response will encourage you and others, it will confuse the enemy and it will lift God up from the Earth so that He can draw others through the blood of the lamb and the Word of your testimony. Be a vessel tried and fit for the Master's use today.
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