Though hardships are bad in themselves, they set the stage on which good qualities can perform. If you never had to face fear, you would know nothing of courage. If you never had to weep, you would never feel the tenderness of a friend wiping tears from your eyes. All of these wonderful attributes ultimately all come from God.
God has qualities we would never see – were it not for suffering.
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and I want you to think on that for just a minute. The God of the Bible possesses amazing virtues that we would never see were it not for our afflictions. Now, most of God’s qualities can be easily seen the beauties of nature, or the miracle of childbirth, or the complexity of the solar system. Even the astounding world underneath a microscope. Awesome wonders in nature give us a glimpse of how powerful, creative, and wise God is. But he has other qualities, too, virtues men would never see if the opportunity were not presented through suffering and sin. Take his kindness, for instance. Would we really appreciate the good health he gives if none of us were ever sick? How could we appreciate his peace if we never went through stormy trials? Would God’s forgiveness ever grip us if he never let us feel the pang of our sins? And what about his compassion in answering our prayers? How would we learn of it if we never had any needs to pray about? You see, the problems we face highlight amazing mercies of our God. But not only that—our problems also provide a showcase for the good qualities people have, too. And let me give you an example.
Picture a guy who has been trying for months to catch the eye of a certain woman. He has been looking for a way to show his interest in her without being too obvious and border-line creepy. One day he’s leaving work, and he spots the girl stranded beside the road with a flat tire. Pulling his car over, he flips on the emergency flashers, and asks if he can help. She responds, “No, thank you. I’ve gotten it all taken care of. I’ve already called the road-side assistance.” The guy shrugs, smiles, and says, “Well if it’s okay with you, I’ll just stick around until you’re back on the road. It’s no bother.” A few minutes later it begins to rain. When the tow truck arrives and she must get out of the car while her tire is changed, he invites her to wait in his car where it’s dry. She apologizes for getting his floor mat muddy as she climbs in the passenger door, but he generously brushes aside any apology.
What could be better than having these unexpected minutes of her undivided attention? Any other time, being late, waiting to have a flat tire changed, sitting in the rain, and getting mud on the floor mats would have been a frustrating nuisance. But here it gave this young man a chance to show sacrifice and kindness for the young woman—something he desperately wanted to do. And it gave her the chance to feel special and cared for.
Friend, this is what problems do for us in life. Though bad in themselves, hardships set the stage on which good qualities can perform. If we never had to face fear, we would know nothing of courage. If we never had to weep, we would never feel the tenderness of a friend wiping tears from our eyes. So, what does this have to do with God? Everything! Because James 1:17 says that God is the author of every good and noble thing in the world. All of the love, kindness, all of the sharing and forgiveness that anyone has ever shown to another, ultimately comes from the Lord. Hey, learn more about the way God works through suffering by visiting joniradio.org today and ordering your gift, “Finding Strength in Weakness.” It’s my book and it’s my gift to you today at joniradio.org. Again, it’s called “Finding Strength in Weakness.”
© Joni and Friends