I have been criticized on more than one occasion for being an eternal optimist. That may be true at some level, but I know as well as anyone that Life is Hard. Our journey from cradle to the grave is filled with challenges, hardships and numberless sorrows. I have seen starving children in Africa and Central America, counseled men and woman whose families have been torn asunder by divorce, and sat in the hospital as the doctors told a mother that her four-year old child had died.I have been known to wallow in self-pity and bemoan the hardships of life. I lifted my eyes to heaven and cried, "Why Me?" and buried my head in my hands and pleaded, "God, help me this one last time." So why would God allow me to suffer through a divorce, losing my job, and betrayal by close friends? - He was preparing me for something greater than myself.
I do not know why the potter shapes the clay the way he does. He presses and prods, twists and distorts until there is a beautiful finished product. Jeremiah didn 't always appreciate the tragedy and hardship he faced in his life! Hosea's heart was torn from him time and again as he struggled to serve his Lord and King. Paul was beaten with rods, shipwreck and cast into a cold, dark prison cell. In every case God was shaping them for service.
God has shaped me into a very different man than I was 10 years ago. I believe that through hardships and struggles he has made me more compassionate, more understanding, more empathetic, and more forgiving. He has smoothed many a rough edge and caused me to reflect on my own inabilty to cope (I must have God in my life to survive).
In hindsight I can now see some of God's plan in my life. God used my life to prepare me for a very different work. He moved me to the foot of the table and placed me in the roll of a servant. LIFE IS GOOD! Not because it is easy, but because God is with me.
