Day 2416 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.
Proverbs 3:12 NIV
Our faith will inevitably lead to this point where the rubber meets the road as they say. The fact is that God loves us too much to leave us as we are. We kind of touched on that a bit yesterday, but it definitely needs its own post. He sees what we can still become if we humbly submit to His refining, pruning, and wise counsel. So at some point we're going to have to either skip all that in favor of the easier road we prefer, or we're going to have to go all in and embrace the path that He's calling us to walk.
Sadly, we almost instinctively choose the path of least resistance. We find comfort more of a priority than improvement. We don’t want to deal with things like seeing our weaknesses, enduring trials, or having to put in a little effort. It’s just easier to stay where we are and settle for what’s acceptable in our eyes. But God created us to be more than simply good enough. He designed us to be conquerors. He calls us to be warriors that can stand up to life and refuse to bow to anything less than His holy calling.
Persistence is a dying thing in our world these days. It's too easy to quit. We have this really twisted viewpoint that tells us that if something is hard then it’s not worth it. We’ve grown to believe that if it’s painful, requires hard work, or doesn’t allow us to sit on the couch then it must not be right for us. We’ve lost sight of the value of correction and discipline. We’ve forgotten the importance of growth and striving for something more than what we have and where we are right now. We just want what’s easy, even if we know it’s a far cry from what’s possible.
But fighting for something, enduring trial and hardship to reach something only helps us to appreciate it more. God knows what He's doing and what we can become. And He will lead us there even if it's through storms and hard days because He wants only the best for us, and from us. We lean toward choosing what’s easy and comfortable because we can handle those things. But it's in those places where we can't hold it together that we're forced to let go and hand it over the One who can. We may want the easier road, but we need the one that God has planned!
We have to realize that God’s plans may not involve the comfort or instant gratification that we’ve become accustomed to seeking. His plans might mean leaving things behind or walking away from people who are holding us back. His path might take us through the wilderness where we can’t see or understand what’s happening. His will for us may require us to actually live by faith and learn to trust in Him while life seems to unravel. It may even mean hard work and the sting of rebuke now and then.
But if we can endure those things, if we can walk that harder line through things we’d rather skip, then He will lead us to a life that we can’t begin to dream of right now. He will build us up into the warriors that He created us to be, but only if we’re willing to persevere through the refining process that burns away the impurities and strengthens what remains. We can stick to what we find easier, but it will mean we miss out on experiencing what could have been had we allowed Him to lead us through the fire.
I get it, it’s not fun to be corrected or to have your flaws and weaknesses pointed out. But we need to see where we can improve if we actually want to improve. We need to learn to embrace and appreciate God’s refusal to afford us the comfort of staying where we are. We’re all still sinners who have plenty of room to grow. Why miss out on that? Why miss out on experiencing more of who God made us to be and what He has planned? Sure, it might not be easy or bring those warm and fuzzy feelings of being told we’re perfect. But it will lead to this sense of fulfillment that the easier road can’t find.
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