When we get hurt, perhaps in a relationship or in the process of completing a task or even in trying to serve God, we hear an accusing whisper in our ear as we pause to recover.
“Now see what happened! You should know now that this isn’t going to work. You don’t have what it takes. It was a mistake to even try, and now you’re paying for it!”
This is the lie we hear over and over again. It may come from the spectators, the cynics with a narrow vision of what’s possible. It may come (in softer words) from those genuinely concerned for our well-being. It may even come from the recesses of our own mind, our natural (but world-based) reason. But in the end, this is the deception of Satan, who hates to see us persevere. Our own experiences of growing up should teach us that “hurt” does not necessarily equal “bad,” just as “comfortable” often does not equal “right.”
I was watching some kids riding bikes the other day. One little girl, about seven years old maybe, toppled off her bike a few times. But rather than sit down and cry, nurse her hurt, and refuse to get back on, she smiled a little, promptly got up, and resumed riding.
Perhaps the analogy is a tad cliché, but when we ourselves learned to ride a bike, our success depended on our willingness to, after falling flat on our face, get up smiling and hop back onto the bike, confident that eventually we’d be a smooth rider. If we just lay on the ground thinking "this proves I'm a terrible rider, maybe a terrible person; this isn’t going to have a good ending," we would never be successful cyclists. We had to push ourselves up (often with encouragement from parents, teachers, and friends), hit the road again, and keep learning.
That's really what life is about, isn't it? Not about feeling good every single moment, but about pushing on through the hard times and learning what its all about.
Right now I'm going through some discouragement and circumstances that really remind me of my last year of high school (it’s now my last year of college). I've definitely felt the inclination to look at the situation and say "why does this keep happening? it must be my fault. I'm never going to get better at avoiding these problems."
Who among us fell off his or her bike ONLY once?
Even if my circumstances resemble a broken record right now, the song is going to have a different ending than it did in high school. I believe this for two reasons.
1. I've changed. I learned from my previous mistakes and know what not to do; that is, not to give up, not to cling tightly to my own control, not to become a cynical recluse (the thought has crossed my mind…). Instead, to trust God, and remember that He is ever-faithful and ever-present. This leads to the second reason.
2. This is NOT the end of the story! My story will not end this way, if I'm faithful to God and He has anything to say about it. He promises hope, honor, glory in the end. This stepping-towards-joy journey will END in joy, and in Jesus.
"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. "--2 Corinthians 4:17-18
Take hope, fellow journeyers! Even though we're surrounded by darkness, we will see good days. Just keep going, keep learning, and never lose sight of the Savior. He does not change.
"But hold on to what you believe in the light
When the darkness has robbed you of your sight"
--Mumford and Sons, "Hold On to What You Believe"
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