have you ever wondered....

why we sometimes find ourselves in hard times?

A book I started reading yesterday said this:

"You can struggle against the disruptive moment, shake your fist at the heavens, and find yourself exhausted, defeated, and in despair - or you can accept the moment and let it train and strengthen you... If you take the latter course, you'll discover on the other side more power, more holiness, and more fruit. Those are precious gifts that cannot be purchased with any coin other than tears. When you possess them, you'll comprehend with joy what God wanted so much for you to experience in your life.

God allows no pain without purpose. Instead, He uses pain to dispense power.....

Someone once told me that the times when plants grow the most are not necessarily during the warm, gentle rains or beautiful summer days. In fact, during fierce winds and raging storms come times of the most growth. Botanists tell us that if you were to take a cross-section of the earth during a vicious storm, you could literally observe the roots reaching further down into the soil."*

Incredible. Amazing.

Oh that I would allow this time to grow my roots deeper... to find on the other side more power, more holiness, more fruit. For if, on the other side of this "bend in the road", I am no different, what a waste.

* Jeremiah, David. When Your World Falls Apart. Nashville: Word Publishing, 2000, pp.23-24