Daily Delight
I’m the kind of person who does not hesitate to make a change if I don’t like how things are going. If I don’t like my job, I change my job. If I don’t like where I live, I move. If I’m frustrated with my relationships, I move on from them. But God recently spoke to me about my reluctance to put my foot down in tough situations, and told me that I needed to learn endurance.Endurance can be defined as “enduring an unpleasant or difficult process or situation without giving way.”Yikes. It’s so tempting to want to run away from difficult situations and emotions instead of facing them and going through them. The moment something doesn’t feel good, something inside of me is alarmed and I shut myself off from feeling the emotion, because it’s uncomfortable and I don’t want to feel it.Similar to that, the season that I’m currently in is not where I want to be, and I would much rather be somewhere else. Whatever the season you’re in, the Bible tells us the importance of endurance: “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” (Romans 5:3, ESV). We rejoice in our sufferings because we know that it’s the hard times that produce the most growth. I could easily run away from the season I’m in and refuse to go through it anymore, but then I would be missing out on the amazing outcome and growth that God has for me.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” -James 1:2-3 (NIV)
Instead of running away from difficult seasons, let’s run towards them, knowing that we will be victorious and only stronger than we were before. Just like gold has to go through the fire to become refined, we need to endure the harder times to become who we are and get to where we’re going.
About the Author
Tatiana Jaeger
Tatiana is a 23-year-old idealist living in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She is a lover of all things creative, and would happily spend the rest of her days learning more about the heart of the Father through what he has revealed to us in creation. She loves deep conversations and connecting with people in a real and authentic way, and her heart is to break through the surface level to find the gold in people. You can usually find her outside on a sunny day, going on long hikes in nature, or taking a drive around the city while singing along to her favorite album of the week on repeat.
