forgetting what is behind, part 2

Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.  (Philippians 3:13-14)

Some people think they have it all together. You may know one of these. They look great. Then one day, their lives come apart. And they themselves fall apart. They have been perfect for so long, they don’t know how to function in hard times.

Their problems is the lack of hardships. Hardships toughen us. Just like exercise makes our muscles stronger, hardships make our faith and our ability to function stronger, if we let them.

There is a lot of difference between a Texas pine and a Maine pine. Both are basically the same kind of pine trees. But the Texas pine is soft. It grows up in a warm climate with only occasional cold spells. A Maine pine is hard. It grows up under brutal conditions with hard winters and heavy winds off the Atlantic.

Both are pines, but they endure different climates. And it is the climates that make them soft or hard.

There was a story of a woman who had a beautiful voice, but no one wanted to hire her as a singer. It just seemed there was something missing. So she quit and got married and had children. Her husband and children were killed in tragic ways, one not long after the other.

After her period of grieving, she decided to try singing again. This time people wanted to hear her. The reason? Her voice showed the hardships she had undergone and it added a dimension to her voice that was lacking before;. What was merely good became beautiful because of the problems she had.

Even though we have problems, we still press on. There is something far greater in front of us than anything we have here. And we will participate in that if we just allow God to work in us through our problems.