What do you bring out of tough times and discouraging trials?
We all go through them. Periods of our lives when almost everything looks bleak. And since no one has yet attended our funerals, it’s obvious we made our way through those past ordeals. We somehow got to the other side.
But are we any better off for having done so? Did we just survive or did we walk away with more than we had when the trials began?
Recently there have been a number of posts placed in this forum expressing some concern and even despair at today’s economic situation. And this has made me wonder if many of us might not be just accepting the supposed “fact” that these have been lost months (and years), and are simply holding on to see better days.
We often read the cute little sentiment. “If life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” But do we believe that’s a real and valid point of view? Do we live for today, or do we passively only really hope for that better tomorrow?
What’s your take on it? Do you feel this past rough stretch has been a true opportunity for you? Or do you think it has been an emotional and financial setback that will take you months, even years, to recover from?
I have a friend who knocks down a whopping salary for speaking from the pulpit. I think it is currently $1 a year. But to me, he’s worth a million. All this has put me in mind of a simple little story he placed online…..
The Parable of the Dark Pit
There are discoveries of God’s grace you can only make in situations of weakness. Here‘s a simple parable to make the point:
You are told that you will live in a pit for one week, and then you will never return there. During that time in the pit, you are to use your waking hours to make a life and a future.
You are lowered into the pit. It is dark, damp, and it smells. You feel around; the walls are slick, yet sharp, like glass. You cut your finger. The floor is littered with sharp, jagged stones. You have to kick them out of the way just to find a place to lie down. You think, “What can I do here to make a life and a future?”
After you settle down, depression comes over you in this darkness. The one thing that sustains your hope is that you know you will only be in the pit for a week, and that you will never be there again. You count the hours, and you count the days. Finally the day of release comes, and you are lifted from the pit. Your ordeal is over. You will never have to go through that again. There’s a spring in your step as you leave the pit, but as you look back, you stop and stare at a sign.
You can hardly believe what you are seeing. You have just spent a whole week in a diamond mine!
There are some gems of God’s grace that can only be mined in the darkness. God has hidden them in the places we would rather not have been. If you are going through this experience of weakness, determine that you will not come out empty-handed.
********
Any of Larry’s little story sound familiar to you? Sure made me think about where I allow my head to go sometimes.
We all go through them. Periods of our lives when almost everything looks bleak. And since no one has yet attended our funerals, it’s obvious we made our way through those past ordeals. We somehow got to the other side.
But are we any better off for having done so? Did we just survive or did we walk away with more than we had when the trials began?
Recently there have been a number of posts placed in this forum expressing some concern and even despair at today’s economic situation. And this has made me wonder if many of us might not be just accepting the supposed “fact” that these have been lost months (and years), and are simply holding on to see better days.
We often read the cute little sentiment. “If life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” But do we believe that’s a real and valid point of view? Do we live for today, or do we passively only really hope for that better tomorrow?
What’s your take on it? Do you feel this past rough stretch has been a true opportunity for you? Or do you think it has been an emotional and financial setback that will take you months, even years, to recover from?
I have a friend who knocks down a whopping salary for speaking from the pulpit. I think it is currently $1 a year. But to me, he’s worth a million. All this has put me in mind of a simple little story he placed online…..
The Parable of the Dark Pit
There are discoveries of God’s grace you can only make in situations of weakness. Here‘s a simple parable to make the point:
You are told that you will live in a pit for one week, and then you will never return there. During that time in the pit, you are to use your waking hours to make a life and a future.
You are lowered into the pit. It is dark, damp, and it smells. You feel around; the walls are slick, yet sharp, like glass. You cut your finger. The floor is littered with sharp, jagged stones. You have to kick them out of the way just to find a place to lie down. You think, “What can I do here to make a life and a future?”
After you settle down, depression comes over you in this darkness. The one thing that sustains your hope is that you know you will only be in the pit for a week, and that you will never be there again. You count the hours, and you count the days. Finally the day of release comes, and you are lifted from the pit. Your ordeal is over. You will never have to go through that again. There’s a spring in your step as you leave the pit, but as you look back, you stop and stare at a sign.
You can hardly believe what you are seeing. You have just spent a whole week in a diamond mine!
There are some gems of God’s grace that can only be mined in the darkness. God has hidden them in the places we would rather not have been. If you are going through this experience of weakness, determine that you will not come out empty-handed.
********
Any of Larry’s little story sound familiar to you? Sure made me think about where I allow my head to go sometimes.
