***I will no longer be using my World Race blog. I am now on Staff with Adventures in Missions and will be blogging on my Staff blog. Subscribe and follow me here instead: http://meganparham.myadventures.org.***
It’s been almost a year since I last posted on this site. A whole lot has happened in between. I finished the World Race for the second time, moved into a new apartment, finally went back to Kenya and got to spend three weeks there in September. I started working on staff with Adventures in Missions, got involved with the student ministry at my church, and just saw my new squad launch into their first month of the World Race.
I guess you could say things have come full circle. For me, however, it is a sweet, sweet reminder that God is not only in control, but He is working ALL things out for His glory step by step. There is a necessary process that this journey holds for each of us and God is infinitely more concerned with His glory, than your comfort.
I learned a lot from my time on the field last year. It was one of the toughest years I have ever had in my short life, but as I get older I realize more and more that pain and suffering will come. There is no way around it. 2015 won’t always be the toughest year of my life. I’m sure the future holds more heartache for me. My approach and perspective on it, however, is forever changed. You see, I have experienced pain and hurt before, but often times I could trace back the reasons why and I was determined to never make the same mistakes again so I could avoid pain. Some plan, huh? Has that ever worked for anyone? Can you truly avoid pain for the rest of your life? I would argue, NO.
Pain, unfortunately, is a product of the broken world. If you are human, you will hurt and be hurt in this life. Without feeling the pain, suffering, and brokenness we will remain a stiff necked people who will never bow to down to the sovereign will of a redeeming God no questions asked. We will never recognize our need for redemption if we don’t go through the pain of life. Jesus is our hope. He has experienced every pain this world can throw our way and He overcame. So will you. The pain you thought would cripple you, can be redeemed. We often want all the blessings of Jesus, but don’t want to drink of the same cup He did. (Mark 10:38)
Why does God allow us to go through pain? It is not always a product of our circumstances or a consequence of our actions. It is sometimes a product of the brokenness of this world that God wants to cleanse us from. What I mean is this, when things get hard and you are shaking your fists at God asking, “why?” consider , instead, what He is teaching you through it. What is He drawing out of you? What does He want to rid you of? He allowed His Son to suffer. Jesus experienced pain by the hand of His own Father and STILL said, “only the Father in Heaven is GOOD.”
For me, I spent a good bit of time when I got home last summer asking the “why” question. I wanted to understand what I just experienced and make sense of it all. Do you know how many direct answers I got to that question?
None.
God is not as concerned with your comfort as He is His own glory. He was working something out in me. I didn’t need to know it at the time. I still don’t need to know the specifics. The growth and the change I have experienced in my own heart tell the story for itself. God saw fit to put me through the fire and refine my character in ways that nothing else could have done. Imagine, if you wanted to purify something, you wouldn’t just run it through water and call it clean. You would soak it, scrub it, throw some chemicals on it, burn it, etc. Doesn’t that sound painful? Why do we think sanctification is any different? This journey we are on is a beautiful process of becoming more like Christ. In order to get our wish and have our prayers answered, there is going to be some pain along the way. If you are asking God to make you more like His Son, prepare to be crucified. It isn’t pretty. It never will be. The results, however, will be an answer to your innocent prayer that you so desperately wanted.
God is truly GOOD. He is a REDEEMER. He is a LOVER. He is MERCIFUL. He is GRACE FILLED. He works ALL things out for His glory. He is kind, compassionate, and gentle. He doesn’t want to leave you to be overtaken by this world. He WANTS you to rise above! He WANTS to cleanse your heart. He WANTS to rid you of yourself and make more room for Christ. He WANTS to manifest the fruit of the Spirit in your life. He can’t do that if you’re taking up all the space. Move over. Let Him in. Embrace the pain and hurt and thank the Father for it.
2015 was a difficult year. I walked through fire, got burned, and will truly never be the same. I am forever grateful to a God who loved me enough to give me what I wanted: more of Him. He is doing a good work in me…and it’s not over.
Your Kingdom Come. Your will be done. On earth, and in me, as it is in Heaven. Amen.
Farewell, 2015. I am a better person because of you. Thank you for the suffering and the beautiful pain you brought me. Redemption is that much sweeter.
***I will no longer be using my World Race blog. I am now on Staff with Adventures in Missions and will be blogging on my Staff blog. Subscribe and follow me here instead: http://meganparham.myadventures.org.***
