The reality of life is that you are either entering a time of adversity, or you may have just exited out of a chapter of your life where you overcame or laid to rest some type of life changing event, or it is extremely possible that you could be up to your elbows right there in the midst of some life crisis that is causing you daily headaches, heartaches, or unfortunately heartbreaks. No pessimism there, just the reality of life, nobody promised you a rose garden. The rose garden reference is a throwback to an old country and western song's lyrics sang by Lynn Anderson and George (Possum) Jones, "I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden. Along with the sunshine, there's gotta be a little rain sometime" (Rose Garden). We sometimes want to get down in the ditches with our sorrows and wallow around in the challenges, adversities, and hardships of life, but I believe as followers of the Living God it is our task, no our responsibility, to walk confidently with God enduring and growing through what is lying there in front of us.
Are we to be singing "Oh happy day" when a loved one passes? (Well actually we probably should, they are going to a much better place than where we are. See Philippians 1:23) Joy and solace for the believer is grounded in the faith that there is something far better waiting for those whose faith carries them through the afflictions and adversities of this life. Easy to say, much harder to do. Paul was a poster child for endurance and perseverance when it came to dealing with headaches, heartaches, and heartbreaks. His life of service to God caused him headaches constantly. Imprisoned for his faith, shipwrecked and near drowning, afflicted with a lingering pain in his side, and constantly struggling just to stay out of the cross hairs of the Roman government where he would be eventually become a martyr for his faith in Christ. The fact of the matter though is that Paul constantly kept a positive attitude, he consistently set aside his sufferings for the benefit of the larger picture, and because of his commitment God was able to use him to spread the gospel of Christ across the world in which he lived.
Paul's life was the epitome of headaches, heartaches, and heartbreaks. I mean even at his conversion to becoming a follower of Christ Paul was temporarily blinded, yet after that conversion He was never the same and lived out the rest of his life serving and saving others for Christ. II Corinthians chapter 4 serves as a testament to the mindset of Paul. In reading verses 7-12 you can just hear the perseverance and victory over adversity in Paul's words, "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you." Do you see life in the face of death? Are you at a place in your life where your faith is bigger than your adversities? Or are you one heartache away from giving up or giving in? Stay strong and trust.
We just looked at Paul's encouraging charge to the followers in Corinth and it is obvious that Paul is telling them that their hope for overcoming the life challenges they face is found in their faith. Let me add a couple more verses from the same chapter where Paul ties it all together, "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all, so we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." I read something the other day and oh how applicable it is to our FTM Thought today. "Where reason ends is where faith begins." (Chip Ingram/Living on the Edge) How true that is. If all we see is the headache, the heartache, or the heartbreak then we haven't grasped the knowledge that God is in control, He has a plan beyond anything we can imagine, and He wants us to move forward trusting in Him to fulfill His plan as He will have it be played out. Trust and believe, faith.
I'll leave you with this thought from the book of John as he quoted Jesus in chapter 8:32 "... you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." Without God, it is impossible to handle the adversities and afflictions of this life. So many questions that we on our own can't answer, and for good reason. We cannot as humans understand the plans that God has in place. We will struggle with loss, we will feel pain in our daily lives, and we will want to question "why??" in many of life's circumstances, but at the end of the day, if we know God, we place our trust in God, and we live our life for God, then we will know the truth of God and His promise of life eternal with Him. We will place our faith in trusting that God knows what He is doing and His plans are never wrong!
Whatever your headache, heartache, or heartbreak is that you are entering, leaving, or currently living in, you are not alone. You have a Great Counselor that is walking thru your situation with you. You may not feel it, you may not even realize it, but you can trust that He is there. Place your faith in front of your feelings and step into the faith that transcends human reasoning. For God is faithful and He never fails.
Coach Carter
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