Romans 15:4 (KJV)
For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
I am having so much difficulty, someone says. My life is full of challenges, another declared. Why me oh God? A very familiar question, we all ask. When will this be over, we often protest. If God is truly there, why all these evil things happening, another question. And the list goes on-and-on of the human agony in trying to make sense of the challenges of life. I must establish that these challenges to which we seek answers, they are real and tangible.
People do go through things that shake the foundation of their lives. They suffer traumatic tragedies that may utter the course of their lives forever. And indeed, it is natural to seek answers and to search for meaning amid things we don’t understand. It is human to question but we are encouraged to do so not in unbelief.
So you may ask, who has ever gone through what am going through? Who understands my pain? It is to this question that the Bible speaks to and gives a clear answer. That human tragedies and suffering have been effectively recorded in the scriptures by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit so that we may:
- Learn from them.
- Develop patience.
- Find comfort.
- Have hope.
The Bible is the solution to all human problems. I say so with all confidence. If only we could read, study, and apply the Bible’s teachings to our lives.
So what I am saying is that you are not by any stretch of the imagination in an unfamiliar environment by what you are going through, someone has been there. And God has provided a pathway to solutions. You see it gets better not necessarily over when you can glean from the experiences of others who have been in the same situation as you are currently.
There are four things that the scripture calls your attention to and proffer as pathways:
1. Learning:
One thing that if we all can do in any situation we find ourselves or created for ourselves, it will change things for good in our lives. What am I to learn from this? The foremost question to ask. Learners are never failures. Learners are always getting better with things in life. Learners are always improving. Learners avoid mistakes made by others. A learner’s perspective is the key to surviving life challenges.
2. Develop patience:
This character is key to survival and flourishing as well as fruitfulness in life. It is a virtue that outlasts every opposition and circumstances that are contrary to Expectations. Grow in it and you won’t regret it.
3. Find comfort:
When we are open to the experience of others, we find that we are not alone. It is a comforting experience to know someone has been where I am and they got through it.
4. Hope:
The inner Joy that it is going to get better irrespective of what the presenting situations are. Hope is the garment of protection amid the turmoil.
Remember, someone has been there and God saw them through. Your case is not different.
Shalom,
Apostle Morgan