Lessons From Hardships

We all go through hardships in life. And while we are in them, all we can think about is how long are we going to be in this storm and how we can get out of it. Once we are out of it we don't want to even think about the situation we just survived. We see it as a fresh start, just like the new year brings. And right now as we begin a new year, a lot of us want to forget all of the difficulties we left behind last year. Life isn't easy and there will be storms that come along that will rock our world. And when that storm, that hardship, comes along we tend to beg God to rid us of all the difficulties and trials that are taking place in our lives. But we must learn to embrace the hard times in our lives. There's a lesson in everything we go through. And sometimes the storms of life are there to teach us a lesson and draw us closer to the One that can calm the storm. God clearly states to us

that His power is made perfect in weakness. ~ 2 Corinthians 12:9

A lot of time we see the hardships that we go through as weaknesses in our lives, but in those hardships we witness the perfect power of God. Embrace those storms. Embrace those trials. Embrace the heartbreak. Because God will use that weakness and turn it into strength. You can have a fresh start, you don't have to take the hardships from your past into your future but take with you the lessons from them. So through the difficulties, hardships, insults and persecutions, learn that whatever you need, God will provide. Learn that God's grace is sufficient. Learn that in our weaknesses, God provides us His strength, He uses our weaknesses to strengthen us. So keep fighting and know that you are not weak. With God you have strength like no other, power to overcome everything, and the ability to learn a lesson that will help you face hardships and difficulties in the future with grace and poise.

---

Scripture:

or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

~2 Corinthians 12:7-10

---

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,

We come before your throne of grace to say thank you. Thank you for bringing us into a new year. Thank you from getting us through everything that we've had to tackle in life. Thank you for the many blessings over the years. Thank you for the lessons that we have learned during our difficult times. God we ask that you continue to protect us and guide us through this new year. God we go into this year knowing that if you did it before You will do it again. So as we face this new year, we take the lessons that we learned from past hardships into this year to help guides us. God we thank you for continuously strengthening us and for your power being made perfect in our weakness. God we know that with you by our side we can get through whatever storm life brings our way. We know that you will never leave us nor forsake us and for that God we thank you. God we thank you now for all that you have done, all that you are doing, and we thank you in advance for all that you are going to do.

In Jesus' Name,

Amen!