Have you ever been through something tough and you just knew that God was behind it, building you up, showing you things about yourself that you did not know existed. In those times although the frustration feels unbearable, and you wish or even say that you want to give up, deep in your heart you just know that you cannot.
During those seasons in my life I am constantly in awe, and even a little excited when I remain standing and smiling despite the frustrating difficulty and pressure. I could feel myself being pushed and stretched and though I dislike it, I simultaneously relish the discovery of these awesome parts of me that I did not know existed. Yes, we will get tired but we should remain grateful for what the grace of God is bringing us through.
God and His ways are truly mysterious - because the emotions that naturally come with challenges seem to conflict with the hope and joy you feel, knowing that God is taking you somewhere higher or to something bigger.
It is the sufficiency of God's grace that helps us to endure, especially when ordinary circumstances or environments become unnecessarily hard and frustrating. Yet, we must dig our heels in and decide to keep going. Practically, it will require us to approach the situation with a different mindset or adjust our perspective to see the intent behind the challenge rather than the challenge itself. What we are experiencing in those situations is that unexplainable dichotomy of pressure and growth; of fire and refining.
Â
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed … therefore we do not lose heart… (2 Corinthians 4: 8a & 16a)
Â
As you are fighting through the challenge, God eventually reveals the transformational work that He is doing in you, and so the anticipation about the next level for which He is preparing you, should be uncontainable.
God uses high-pressure situations to wean out self-doubt, and thoughts of inadequacy, and to reprogram your mind, and rewrite the code of who you are.
Challenges prune us, refine us and build us up.
For You have tried us, O God; You have refined us as silver is refined… We went through fire and through water, Yet You brought us out into a place of abundance. (Psalm 66: 1-2)
Pressure points are to position us for greater.
Â
So be truly glad there is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. (1 Peter 1:6-7a)
Â
Why did Peter even mention faith alongside trials? Because faith is the reason you know that nothing is random or wasted with God. Faith is the bedrock of hope, and hope is what causes us to endure through every struggle.
Through our challenges we experience firsthand the joy that the Bible says we should have when we fall into different types of trials, for those trials will result in a strong and refined character (James 1). Your character is who you are in your soul. There is no growth and promotion without an equal measure of growth in your character to prepare and position you for that new place of promotion.
Â
The population of the Ethiopian desert locusts exponentially increases in the warmer temperatures of the rainy season in northeastern Africa when plants and greenery also flourish. In this season locust swarms grow to super swarms and cover the ground with their bright yellow and green coat. These super swarms strip all foliage in their path bare. To find more food they must go longer distances but they can’t do so on foot. In order to travel further, they enter a period of transformation where they change form and grow wings. The super swarm of millions of Ethiopian desert locusts on the ground continue to grow and eventually become billions of winged creatures that blanket the sky to get higher and further.
Â
We should all strive for that maturity in our faith, to more easily realise the difficulties of life that are meant to be roadways to growth in your character.
Â
Let the pressure points in life and in your environment refine and change you, and cause you to grow your wings so that you can mount higher and go farther than you imagined could be possible!
Love Ya! Krystal Baynes-Hoseinee
SUBSCRIBEÂ to receive notifications of new posts.
FOLLOWÂ me on:
Facebook www.facebook.com/imaniinspirationalÂ
&
Instagram www.instagram.com/imani_blog2020Â