“I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden.” – Lynn Anderson
When Joe South wrote those words for this song, I am not sure that he knew that he was speaking truth from God, Himself. I can officially say that I am in a season of pain and hurt. You know what those seasons are like: everything you touch seems to either break or be broken. You cannot seem to find your self a restful sanctuary wherever you look. And you find yourself, more often that you would like to admit, on your knees, screaming and crying out to God for answers, or justification, or even just a simple reprieve from your misery.
by Kalense Kid
And once again, I find myself clinging to my Bible and pouring through the book of James.
James 1:2-3 declares, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” And just to throw a little more kerosene on the fire, James continues to say in verse 4, “Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
So, to grow, there must be pain. I get that. What I DON’T get is why it just seems that when you are in one of these painful/hurtful seasons, it just never seems to let up. And there are other truths to be found here in this passage. Continuing in James 1 with verses 5-8, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.”
The responsibility lies with me (us) to CHOOSE to seek God. We must ASK for wisdom. We must REMAIN stable. A wise man once said that “God is less concerned with our HAPPINESS, but more so about our OBEDIENCE.”
When times get tough, those seasons of pain and hurting, the simple answer is SEEK GOD MORE. I KNOW this. I also find that during those times I am USUALLY more away from God than I need to be. More aloof to others and less connected to God, His church, and His people.
James always speaks to me. Pain and hurt will come, but like I have said before, “our problems are not unique, it’s how we respond that will set us apart.”
How do YOU respond during those times of pain and hurt?
Leave a comment and let’s work through this TOGETHER…
