September 22. Ethos. The beginning of the latest lesson God has been oh so clearly attempting to teach me. It's a lesson I am not so sure what to do with; it's radical.
Suffering. What if suffering has a purpose, it's not just happenstance? What if the suffering of one is to bring joy to another? What if suffering serves to make transform us into men and women of strength, men and women with depth, with character? I think to myself of course this must be true. Check out the New Testament, time and again Paul says we are "refined through the fire" "and we should rejoice in our trials for we know they are good for us and develop endurance which leads to strength of character and expectation of salvation. While I know this in my head, I truly wonder if I let it permeate my heart. So often I find myself making plans to avoid suffering and live my life from a place of comfort. The majority of choices I make lead me not towards Christ but rather towards comfort.
Nonetheless, God has been showing me that suffering is unavoidable. Within the past 3 weeks, the real lives of so multiple people have been revealed to me. And it is clear that no one, NO ONE, is immune to hardship, trial, and pain. We are all broken. Shattered like glass. And yet, I find freedom in knowing that I am not alone in suffering. I am not alone in having experienced hardship. Strangely enough, I am beginning to desire the freedom that comes with being real over the demands that come with trying to have it all together. The broken pieces of our lives are strangely beautiful. It seems to me that God allows us to be broken, so that He can restore and redeem us. He can take the shards and create something majestically beautiful if only we entrust our brokenness into the hands of our Creator.
It's like a stained glass window. Alone the fragments are beautiful but incomplete. When each fragment is seen within the whole pane, as light shines through, it makes sense. It is glorious. He is weaving together our broken pieces, colored by different trials, into His story. Alone our piece is beautiful, a picture of redemption, but when joined with others in the context of salvation, it is Holy.
Lord help me not to flee suffering. Help me to choose You and Your way above my own. Give me sight beyond myself and my right now. Anchor my soul and bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Suffering. What if suffering has a purpose, it's not just happenstance? What if the suffering of one is to bring joy to another? What if suffering serves to make transform us into men and women of strength, men and women with depth, with character? I think to myself of course this must be true. Check out the New Testament, time and again Paul says we are "refined through the fire" "and we should rejoice in our trials for we know they are good for us and develop endurance which leads to strength of character and expectation of salvation. While I know this in my head, I truly wonder if I let it permeate my heart. So often I find myself making plans to avoid suffering and live my life from a place of comfort. The majority of choices I make lead me not towards Christ but rather towards comfort.
Nonetheless, God has been showing me that suffering is unavoidable. Within the past 3 weeks, the real lives of so multiple people have been revealed to me. And it is clear that no one, NO ONE, is immune to hardship, trial, and pain. We are all broken. Shattered like glass. And yet, I find freedom in knowing that I am not alone in suffering. I am not alone in having experienced hardship. Strangely enough, I am beginning to desire the freedom that comes with being real over the demands that come with trying to have it all together. The broken pieces of our lives are strangely beautiful. It seems to me that God allows us to be broken, so that He can restore and redeem us. He can take the shards and create something majestically beautiful if only we entrust our brokenness into the hands of our Creator.
It's like a stained glass window. Alone the fragments are beautiful but incomplete. When each fragment is seen within the whole pane, as light shines through, it makes sense. It is glorious. He is weaving together our broken pieces, colored by different trials, into His story. Alone our piece is beautiful, a picture of redemption, but when joined with others in the context of salvation, it is Holy.
Lord help me not to flee suffering. Help me to choose You and Your way above my own. Give me sight beyond myself and my right now. Anchor my soul and bind my wandering heart to Thee.
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