There has been a reoccurring theme in the past few months of my life. I keep meeting people who ask me or talk to me about trying to figure out why God allowed certain events or relationships to happen, especially when things go really bad and people get damaged beyond repair.
Last week I talked about how Satan can play into controversies, but I never really explained why God allows things to happen. I think the bottom line answer is we will never know, but there are a few things that I have found in my life that have helped shape me and I am going to talk about that.
In my life, I have found that part of the reason that I want to become a pastor is because I have had horrible experiences in the past. Instead of choosing to wallow in self-pity, I decided to be the change and do my best to be the leader that Christians deserve. I learned that it is not acceptable to demand perfection out of those under me, I learned that sound doctrine and sound teaching is so crucial, it is not acceptable to judge people or stereotype people, and I learned that it is so important to understand people as individuals. If I was at healthy churches my entire life, I would have taken all that for granted. But instead, I learned first hand what is important. Also, if I was naturally gifted with speech and knowledge and did not struggle with the disorders that I did, I think that I would not respect the ability to get up and give sermons or teach people.
The second part of this concept is why God allows bad relationships to happen. This can be work, personal, leadership, or any other time in which people relate. I have heard people talk with me about this a lot recently. Unfortunately, the Bible tends to do a horrible job concerning relationships, so we kind of have to figure this stuff out for ourselves. People will ask, "why did God allow me to date/marry this person if he knew that we were not going to make it?" I came to realize that often times we get ourselves into relationships that are not healthy, or the person is not necessarily healthy. Sometimes we have to learn the hard way. Other times relationships just end, but we feel like we just wasted months of our lives figuring that one out.
What I have to say to that is, no, you did not waste your time. When you finally meet that person that you are supposed to marry, I think you will have a heck of a lot more respect for the awesome person that you end up with. I have been in some pretty bad situations in the past, but I can not tell you enough how appreciative I feel when I am with someone who is emotionally healthy. I do not take that for granted. Yes, relationships can be hard and there will be tension, but there is a difference between going through life with someone who truly loves you and keeps your heart in check verses someone who is self-centered in times of crisis. You learn a lot about people in times of crisis, and if they care about you they will make sure that your heart is safe.
So as I close, I want you to remember that even though you are going through trials, try to understand that what you are going through today maybe something to prepare you for tomorrow. Whether it is a bigger obstacle to overcome or if it is someone or something that will be greater than you imagined, we sometimes go through things in life so that we may have a better respect for God's gift.
No comments:
Post a Comment