Wanna Trade....

I was catching up with an old friend giving her the cliffnotes on the past few years. I couldn't believe all the events that had happened over the past few years! When put down on paper, it seemed like a LOT for a person to go through! But the cool thing about it was that looking back NOW I didn't even remember it being so much.

I made the comment that 'I had experienced so much spiritual growth and spiritual maturity that I wouldn't trade those difficult circumstances for anything'.


So I ask the question...Do you wanna trade?

When you are in the midst of circumstance, I think a lot of us would rather trade the circumstance in exchange for peace in our lives. But after you've overcome....after you've leaned not on your own understanding....after you've come through the fire....the person you become in spite of those circumstances is worth more than anything. If we never had fire, there's no way we could be refined. We would simply stay idle. Don't get me wrong, being 'idle' can sometimes just be nice - but it isn't satisfying to our spirit. We will always hunger for more - more purpose, more peace, more understanding, more wisdom. But in order to gain these things, challenges are necessary for growth.

So, it's time for a new perspective. We should welcome the bad times and be excited that because of these circumstances, we are only taking necessary steps in order to become the person God wants us to be.

Do you wanna trade your circumstances and go back to the last time in your life you felt happy? If you answered 'yes', just hang in there - because you are still in the refining process. Depend on God - have faith in His faithfulness and know that He only wants His best for your life.

If you answered 'no' then I hope you've gained a new perspective and appreciation for those bad times and will use the bad times to refine yourself spiritually.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance" (James 1:2)

"In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." (1 Peter 1:6,7)