Are You Running from the Lesson?

Facing a time of brokenness and despair? Dealing with a series of disappointments?Does it feel like the emotional pain is more than you can bear? Do you want to just leave everything behind and flee? Believe me you are not alone. I have been in that place many times before and did not just think about fleeing, I did.

The thing about fleeing; however, is that you are not getting to the root of the problem and it is likely to reoccur. When I decided to take flight on one occasion, I packed up and moved my son and I from the East to the West Coast, approximately 3,000 miles away. It was exhilarating and fun for a while. I was surrounded by beaches and all types of exciting places, but eventually the excitement wore off.

What I was facing once more was the residual of undealt with issues. The earthly forms of security of which I had come to rely upon were once again failing me. At the moment I had not accepted that what I needed to be relieved of the heavy gloom that was weighting my soul was to be still and find the lessons that were waiting for me. It was not until I began to lean on God and the power of His word that maturity and acceptance engulfed me.

A portion of that acceptance came with the realization that I had become an expert at casting blame and not accepting responsibility for my own part in the unpleasant and painful situations. I was not embracing the lessons or acknowledging they even existed. I wanted it all to be good and in that moment did not recognize how truly unrealistic that was.

Does any of this sound familiar? If so, just know that it is true for you also; whenever you experience brokenness, strife and pain, God’s grace can sustain and mature you. I can teach you lessons that you can carry for the rest of your life.

Through each experience, God can teach you how to rest in His wonderful provision and to use the lessons to serve others and glorify His name. You can either choose to let the negative situations and challenges bring you down or you can embrace them and thereby rise above them. I chose the later! Which will you choose?