Beauty of Hardship
In high school science class I learned that there are times when a winding river can chart a new, streamlined course as the stress placed on a river bank in a bend cuts the bend off altogether. What if the stress in our life is meant, not to defeat us but to help us chart a new path?
You have heard of Thomas Edison failing 1,000 times in creating a light bulb. Edison said, “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.” Sumner Redstone said, “Great success is built on failure, frustration, even catastrophe.” What if the challenges you face and the failures you experience are God’s not-so-subtle way to get you to rise up and chart a new course right where God has called you.
Too often failure, frustration and catastrophe can make you doubt your calling or God-assigned placement. Yes, there are times when God calls you to make a change. However, it also could be that God is calling you to chart a new course where we are. This discovery is the beauty of hardship.
Life.Church failed at creating the most used Bible website in the world. That failure lead them to create the most used Bible App in the world, the one you know as the YouVersion Bible App. They also discovered that lost people were not checking out their church. The solution was to route people who were searching for porn to their website. People ended up finding Christ and being set free from sexual addictions. Their failures led them, not to defeat, but to discovery.
If you are alive, then you are probably facing challenges - work, ministry, family, etc. There is a beauty to be found in the hardship. If you have engaged in slight adjustments to the status quo and wound up frustrated and are losing hope, then why not discover a new way forward? Joseph’s hardship led to provision and rescue (Genesis 37-50). His story is not the only one like it in Scripture. Your hardship can lead to the same provision and rescue that you would never discover if not for taking a path through the hardship.
Take inventory of your situation. List what you have tried. Consider alternatives to your hardship, even radical and faith challenging alternatives. Seek wise counsel. You may discover that the beauty of this hardship will lead you to beautiful places you never dreamed possible.