The dark moments of our life will last only so long as is necessary for God to accomplish His purpose in us.
Have you ever caught yourself wishing for “the good old days?” Most of us have. The truth is, however, if we had a chance to travel back to another time, we would find the same problems and trials that confront us now also existed back then. Trials come no matter who you are or what you do.
Suffering molds, prepares, and perfects us in a variety of ways. Pressure from without increases pressure within. We feel it as the darkness lingers, the pain increases, and the disappointment goes on and on.
In the spiritual realm, however, we do not have to yield to the mounting pressure. We can defuse it by placing it on the altar of God and allowing Him to handle our hurts.
Suffering beyond our control proves to us that we are not omnipotent. Suddenly we become acutely aware of an authority higher than ourselves, Someone whose insight and wisdom outranks our own. We need a Savior—Someone greater than our biggest fear, Someone able to meet all our needs. Only through His grace can we learn the truth concerning suffering: God uses it to help us experience His immense love.
Maybe you are facing a time of suffering, and you think the emotional pain is more than you can bear. Or perhaps you are dealing with a series of disappointments. Instead of becoming fearful—a frequent ploy of Satan to pull you away from the will of God—ask the Lord to show you what He is up to in your life.
Someone wrote: “God knows that soldiers are to be made only in battle; they are not to be grown in peaceful times. We may grow the stuff of which soldiers are made; but warriors are really educated by the smell of powder, in the midst of whizzing bullets and roaring cannonades. . . . Is He not developing in you the qualities of the soldier by throwing you into the heat of battle, and should you not use every application to come off conqueror?”
