The Struggle Bus part 2
I think there is a lot to be said about ministering out of your own hurt. Giving even when you feel like you don't have anything to give. I think that's powerful. I think that says a lot about the person doing it. A lot about their faith. Because you can't give what you don't have, and you can only give what you do have. So when you find yourself in the midst of trouble and tribulation, and you can still help someone else... I think that's incredible. Here's the key to all that though: You have to know your source of strength. You have to know that you can be of good cheer in the midst of your struggles. That it doesn't matter what you're going through, because it doesn't have to go through you. That's one of my favorite translations from the Message Bible--when Peter was walking on water, and then turned his eyes to the wind and waves (the storms) all around him, and started to sink. "Jesus didn't hesitate. He reached down and grabbed his hand. Then he said, "Faint-heart, what got into you?"" Because that's the question that really matters. What you get into isn't as important as what gets into you. It's kind of the idea of checking yourself instead of wrecking yourself. Looking at the silver lining, even in the midst of the dark clouds. Because every cloud DOES have a silver lining. All things aren't going to feel good, but that doesn't mean they aren't working together FOR good. In this life we have to go through things. That's how we learn and grow. Inviting Jesus into your life, and more specifically into each and every situation in your life, is the only way to GET THROUGH each and every situation in your life. It's ok to be on the struggle bus. It's ok to not have all of the answers. It's ok to be messy. Life is messy. The most important part of being on the struggle bus is letting Jesus take the wheel. Letting HIM turn your mess into a message. You don't have to keep driving down the same road, just because you've been on it for a long time. God allows and, I believe, encourages U-turns. It came to pass, not to stay. Where you are right now is not where you will be forever. Trusting in the Lord is what equips and empowers us to get through things, instead of getting wrecked by things. Taking the lessons from the losses, if I can say it that way. And I believe you learn much more from "failure" than from success. I put that word in quotes because you only truly fail when you fail to keep trying. Trying and "messing up" is good. Because at least you tried. And you can learn from what didn't work and try again. When you know better, you can do better. If you know it, you can throw it. You can share what you know. You can let what's inside you come out by knowing and believing that it's in there. Even in the midst of--ESPECIALLY in the midst of--trials and tribulations. You can be a thermostat instead of thermometer. You can SET the temperature instead of just TAKING it. So even when you're on the struggle bus... you can still give what you've got. You can still be of good cheer. And you can still love people!