July 9
One thing I've learned over the years is that no matter how hard a season may seem, God doesn't waste any of it. He turns all of the bad into something good, even if it takes a while to see it.
Three Thoughts
Paul says to rejoice that suffering produces something within us...endurance. Then character. Then hope. No matter what hard thing you're walking through right now, know that it isn't the end of the story. Something deeper is being grown within you.
ROMANS 5:3-4
James starts his letter with "count it all joy." That sounds nearly impossible until you read the next line, which talks about what testing and steadfastness. The steady and unshakable version of you is being built in the middle of the mess.
JAMES 1:2-4
Peter says that your tested faith is more precious than gold. That the fire is purification, burning out all of the bad in our lives. Whatever survives the heat is what's actually real. And what's real in you is being revealed, even when the trials are hard.
1 PETER 1:6-7
Two Quotes
Author and radio host Joni Eareckson Tada on what God allows:
"Sometimes God allows what he hates to accomplish what he loves."
Author Paul David Tripp on hope:
"Hope is more than wishing things will work out."
Prayer
Dear God, this season of my life is more difficult than I let other people see. I want answers and for it to be over. I want my comfort back. But even more than all of that, I want to come out on the other side looking more like Jesus. So I ask that you would use this pain to refine me. Give me endurance. Build my character. In Jesus' name, amen.
Question
What is God growing in you right now that can’t grow in any other way?