The Struggle Is Real

Last week was really tough for me. My car key fell off of my key chain and I was without a car. I then misplaced my wallet. Additionally, I misplaced several hours looking for said missing items.  And, in what was the exclamation point of the day, my phone broke. The struggle is real.

I know. Who am I to complain because there are people going through real problems much tougher than mine? But the combination and the timing was awful. I felt like crap. Things I took for granted were gone. And I wanted them back. It wasn’t Monday. It was FirstWorldProblemsDay.

I learned from Donald Miller, who took these ideas from a philosopher named Frankl, that we will find meaning when we find the “redemptive qualities of suffering”.

“God works all things out for the good of those who love Him…” Romans 8:28

Because I lost my keys and wallet, I cleaned my house and my car (which really needed to be done). I found my wallet. My parents brought me a spare key. Because my iPhone broke it forced me to stop obsessing over my upvoted Yik Yak posts for three days.

“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” Charles R. Swindoll

The redemptive qualities of suffering. Every heartache, disappointment, setback, etc. can strengthen our character. It can help us stay on the path we are supposed to be on.  We don’t see the whole picture as it is happening to us. But what if we are the main characters of an amazing story?  All great stories have conflict and then redemption at the end.     

What has God redeemed for you?