How People Grow

Nov 8, 2022

"For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weakness."

- St. Paul, 2 Corinthians 12:10

"The Good doesn't come until I embrace my trial."
- A Pastor

Over the years, I've done my share of pastoral counseling and one thing I've learned is that people who don't want to grow… don't.

So, and this may surprise you, I can recall a few times when I actually told a person that I was not going to meet with them any longer… that they needed another counselor. Shocked, they would often ask," Why?!" And I'd reply, "Because you refuse to grow! Three times over the last eight weeks, you said you were sick and tired of this problematic behavior, and each time, you said you would do anything to change. However, when I offered you a short list of things that you could do that would eventually lead to real positive change… you refused to do them… every time!" A person who does not really want to grow… won't grow!

As we enter this month of Discipleship, the assumption is that we all want to grow in our relationship with Jesus. If that's really true, then let me give you, what I believe, is the single greatest principle for going deep with Jesus. Ready? Here it is:

The good doesn't come until I embrace my trial.

The Apostle Paul said:

"For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weakness." The NIV says, "I delight in my weakness."

- 2 Corinthians 12:10

So many people never get to this good place because they refuse to embrace the trial all the way to the end.

On the farm, we embraced the hardship of the elements: the hard work of clearing the fields and planting the seeds… the gut-wrenching labor of pulling the weeds out of the bean fields in 100 degree heat and 90% humidity… the back-straining work of standing stalks of corn back up that had been knocked down by golf-ball sized hail. We embraced the blood, sweat, and tears all along the way. Why? So, we could enjoy the harvest in October!

If you're in a trial right now, your choice is whether you will embrace, or resist, what God is doing in your life. Embracing what God has allowed to come into your life means that you believe God is not asleep at the wheel. You believe that God is not AWOL. You believe that God is not absent… that God is good… that God is present… that God loves you… that God is for you… that God is in control! Yet… God has allowed this hard thing to come into your life. He could have prevented it. But He didn't! You have to embrace that.

I know the weight of these words.

When I was first diagnosed with cancer… I resisted that news with all my strength! I laid awake at night complaining, "No! No! No! Not This! Not Now! God! What are You doing? Where are You?" I don't know if you've noticed, but resisting comes easy. When a hard trial hits our life, we tend to storm in and out of God's presence with pressing demands… And that not only blocks our view of God and prevents us from sensing His presence with us, but it also keeps us from understanding the good He wants to build into our life through this trial.

Listen, if you're in a storm right now and feel like the bad news is just knocking you off your feet… you need to get yourself back on solid ground.

Here's the Rock you need to stand on: Embrace your trial! Tell Jesus...

"Lord, I don't like what I'm going through. I don't understand it! I believe You are good and that You are in control. But You have allowed this to come into my life. You could have prevented it… but You didn't. So, I ask for the strength to endure it! I ask for the ability to maintain a good attitude through it… to be patient and kind and loving to those around me. I pray for the faith to believe that You are doing something good in me, and through me, in this storm."