Growing Through Difficulties

2 Corinthians 1:3-11 (NLT) 1:3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. 4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 5 For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. 6 Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. 7 We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us. 8 We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. 9 In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. 10 And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us. 11 And you are helping us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because God has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety.

No one is exempt from trials. Everyone has their share of difficulties as they walk through life. I was pondering over this verse this morning and thought how I’ve changed in my thinking over the years. I remember at one time thinking that I didn’t have very many trials and couldn’t figure out what the big deal was with some people in regards to their trials. How very wrong I was. I also remember the advice my father gave me just before I entered my first pastorate. He said, “Bill, God won’t allow you to cut any corners just because you’re a pastor’s kid. You will have to go around every corner and wont’ be allowed to make take any shortcuts.” I thought my dad was nuts. I thought of myself as the “golden child” who was going out to win the world for Jesus. “Watch out Billy Graham, here I come.” Again… how wrong I was. I used to be cocky, confident and very full of myself. God had to break me over and over again. I was like the little lamb with whom the shepherd had to finally break his leg in order to keep him from going off and doing his own thing. I’ve had to take every corner in life in a hard way and have had to deal with much sorrow. I stand before God today not as some confident person but as a man that has experienced the sovereignty and mercy of God. I know that I can’t do anything unless I have God’s power in my life. God has allowed me to experience sorrow and difficulty so that I would depend on Him and not myself. It is true that I have brokenness in my life, but I’ve been put back together again with God’s Holy Spirit. I don’t take the grace of God lightly. I know that with what God has given me – I now need to give it to others. I know that I’m a blessed man.