If I have discovered one thing over the past year it is that sometimes in order to grow I have to be ok with being inconvenienced. One of the biggest growth times of my life was at a place called Mercy Ministries which is a six month program for young female adults who are struggling with life-controlling issues. While I was there, there were many times when I just wanted to leave or give up and go live life the “normal” way so that I could be comfortable and do what I wanted to do. At that time in my life though, God had other plans for me. I can honestly say if I would have left Mercy earlier than God had planned, I do not know if I would still be alive. If I was alive I would not be the person I am today.
TEMPORARY INCONVENIENCE=PERMANENT IMPROVEMENT
That brings me to the World Race. Already a couple weeks in and things are hard. It’s hard to constantly be with people I am still getting to know, and not my friends and family from back home; it’s hard to continually have to die to my desires to have cold water, to shower when I want, to eat whenever or what I want, to sit inside with air conditioning or to watch television when I want. I’m slowly but surely realizing how entitled I feel to my comfort.
Then I am reminded of my Savior. Jesus Christ who was fully God, Son of God the Father, chose to come to our world. He chose to be temporarily inconvenienced and put on flesh, taking on all the limitations of a human knowing what it was like to sit in Heaven with the Almighty God. This just baffles my mind, I cannot imagine what that was like for him, yet I am so thankful that he did it. Because of his choice to be temporarily inconvenienced we can now enter into eternal glory.
I am so encouraged by the life of our Savior and can’t help but praise him for an opportunity to do some of the same things he did. Even though the journey is long and is going to be hard, in the end it is totally worth it if even just one person can get to know Jesus Christ and enter into eternal glory alongside him.
“This slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.” 2 Corinthians 4:17
