What do I mean by “beauty in hardships”? That sounds like an oxymoron! No one enjoys going through hardships or trials. They’re uncomfortable and sometimes painful, frustrating, worrisome, and can leave you depleted and exhausted. There’s a song we’ve sung for years in the church—“Through It All” written by Andraé Crouch. Two lines especially stand out:
“For if I’d never had a problem,
I wouldn’t know God could solve them.”
That still preaches today! If we didn’t have hardships and trials, we wouldn’t know or fully understand the power God has.
From childhood, I’ve heard ministers preach about how they were desperately in need and how God would meet that need. For instance, they wouldn’t have any money to put food on the table for their family, so they would pray. God would send someone that very day with bags full of groceries. It’s one thing to hear about it, but another to experience it firsthand.
Early in our pastoral ministry, we were at a church that was struggling to pay the bills, so my husband wouldn’t take his paycheck. This kept on for weeks until we didn’t have enough money to buy groceries. We had never been in this situation before. We seemed to have our share of problems and struggles associated with this church. In addition, I was pregnant with our first child, and I remember feeling quite helpless. We prayed and asked the Lord for help. That afternoon, one of our church members showed up unexpectedly with groceries! Another member brought a check from her account and said God told her to give it to us. It was the amount of pay we were supposed to have received! We hadn’t told anyone about our situation except the Lord.
When you experience God showing up and meeting your needs, your faith increases. Even though we know God can meet every need, it becomes real to us when He meets our needs on a personal level. That’s the beauty in hardship—God revealing His love, His power, and taking care of us. The scripture tells us He knows our needs before we even ask it (see Matthew 6:8). “If we never had a problem, we wouldn’t know God could solve them!”
Lori Lewis is the International Women’s Ministries President for the Church of God. She has served on the International Women’s Ministries Advisory Board, State Women’s Ministries Director, International Girls Ministries Director, State GM Director and many other ministry roles. Her desire is to strengthen women as they embrace their gifts, calling and identity in Christ.
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