Graduating from college and moving away from Auburn in December was such a relief. I was so tired of where I was in my life by the end of my educational career. I felt so stagnant and purposeless, but also guilty for being so ready to leave. I didn’t want to admit to feeling discontent, especially to my closest friends who would be around for another semester.
I think a lot of you out there can relate to these sentiments. At the end of any season in life, it is human nature for any intrinsic motivation to reach an all-time low (and I am not talking about the moderately successful 2000’s American pop punk band). We all have been there. Maybe you are dealing with a serious case of Senioritis and are beyond ready to get the __ out of high school or college. Maybe you know you are involved in a relationship that is unhealthy, but saying goodbye is too terrifying to face. Maybe you took an internship that wasn’t quite what you had expected it to be.
Believe me, I have been there.
But here is the great news – EVERY EXPERIENCE IS A BLESSING. I know this is a hard pill to swallow, and a lot of readers out there will not agree with this claim, but I know it is the truth. Our experiences are what makes life worth living, and I know I wouldn’t be the person I am today without every single gritty moment. All the little moments that we get make up the bigger picture. And oftentimes, saying goodbye to things, people, or places that you love is a good thing. I have had to let go of my hometown and my family. I have had to let go of Auburn University and all the wonderful memories it has given me. I have had to let go of great friendships and relationships with people I truly love.
Even the most terrible circumstances are blessings in disguise. Because we live in a world filled with death and disease and brokenness, many times I look around and it becomes so easy to doubt God’s sovereignty. Sometimes, in life, humans look at hardships and regard them as a results of defects in our own faith, or even defects in the Lord’s omnipotence or His innate goodness. We think “how in the world could He allow this to happen?” or “why am I being punished?”
There is something that we have to understand: not all suffering Christians are disobedient Christians. We need to stop making misconstrued connections between our actions and our circumstances. When we begin doing this, we turn Christianity into a means to an end – and that is prosperity gospel. We also turn God’s love into something that has to be earned – which leads to a lot of guilt, shame, and anxiety. As fallen humans, we will never be good enough for God. We don’t deserve salvation… that is why it is called grace.
There is a quote by C.S. Lewis that really encompasses the point I am trying to make.
“Some people feel guilty about their anxieties and regard them as a defect of faith but they are afflictions, not sins. Like all afflictions, they are, if we can so take them, our share in the passion of Christ.”
What I am NOT trying to say is that there is just a silver lining to find or a lesson to learn through all these hardships (although that is always the case). That’s not the point.
Oftentimes, Christ allows suffering because He wants us to understand fully the weight of His sacrifice and the fullness of His love. While there are pleasantries along the way in this world, I don’t think God will let us mistake Earth as our eternal home. Before we are believers, this truth is impossible to understand, because all humans are born into a mortal world full of sin. We can’t see past our own noses and look ahead at eternity, because salvation is a gift that nonbelievers have not accepted.
I can only promise you all this because I have experienced it for myself. Being a follower of Christ and acknowledging that He did in fact come to save humankind, leads to a life of joy that surmounts the circumstances of this Earth. I have come to see suffering as a glimpse into Jesus himself. A man who gave up equality with God and was born in the most humble circumstances, He was beaten and mocked and murdered by those he came to save.
James says it this way:
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
When I encounter temptations, afflictions, suffering, and hardships is when I look the most like Jesus. He strips me of myself and makes room for Himself. I become humbled and more useful for bringing about His kingdom. I experience truer intimacy with the Spirit and I begin to truly understand His character.
The Lord also speaks much louder to me in the bad times than in the good. I know He loves me because He has felt my pain and understands my true heart more than anyone.
Because these are the blessings that are eternal…
Bring on the rain.
