Some politicians have gotten themselves into trouble in the past for using a crisis for political gain. Obviously we should not seek personal gain from the pain and hurt of others, but we should hope to grow from our own sufferings. Unfortunately, the crises and sufferings in our life get wasted often.
Rather than being shaped by our sufferings and sharpened to do greater things for God’s kingdom and for the world around us, we allow our sufferings to grind us down or simply to have no long term effect on us at all. In the midst of pain and heart-ache people make all sorts of commitments to change, to be a better person, to do more good for the world, but on the back end of your sufferings and pains are you making good on your promises or have you wasted a good crisis?
Does suffering sharpen you up or grind you down? Click To TweetL.B. Cowman writes, “when our cup of sorrows is taken away and the lessons in it are suppressed or go unheeded, we do more damage to our soul than could ever be repaired.” If you are suffering today, will you commit to not wasting this difficult time in your life? Make sure that something good comes from all of the bad. If you are not suffering today, prepare for the dark days that will come in the future. Prepare by committing right now to face your bitter cup with an eye toward a brighter future.
Don’t waste a good crisis. Instead, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness” (James 1:2-3). In the midst of your struggles, you can can also take confidence with these words, “More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts though the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:3-5).
