Pure Joy in Pain

Change is painful, but it certainly brings results that are worth the growing pains.  This idea of breaking or failing in order to grow and to attain greater things has really been sticking out to me lately.  Just like a seed has to die before it can sprout and become a flower or a great tree, we have to be willing to give up ourselves to become who God created us to be.  We have to study and attempt to grasp foreign and difficult concepts if we are to grow our minds.  We have to push our bodies in order to become physically in shape.  We have to work through problems with friends and family to truly remain a part of a relationship.  And we have to be challenged in our faith in order to ascertain what we truly believe.  All of these struggles are painful and can sometimes feel hopeless, but thanks be to God that we have a living hope through Christ!  We can push through the hard times knowing that what lies on the other side is well worth the struggle.  Though the temptation to stagnate and to keep the status quo is strong, it leads to death.  Life is about change and about growth, about reaching for the lofty goals of Christ, about living more and learning more and thinking more and loving more and giving more...pushing and straining and striving forward, not looking back but remembering all that God has already brought us through...in the end, we are victorious.  For now, we must run the race.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything"

-James 1:2-4