Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death...

You know that popular saying, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger"? Well, I happen to think that is such a silly, American thing to say. Why? Because it doesn't always work that way. Suffering can break or make someone but whether it does one or the other is conditional upon one thing: the origin of their strength. How someone turns out after being put through the wringer is completely determined by whether or not they relied completely on human effort to survive the hardship. 

Many of us have been through dark times. Many of us know what it feels like to have the rug pulled out from under us and left asking the most common question asked in the midst of suffering: "Why me?"

In America, we pull up our boot straps, grab the bull by its horns, and say, "I can do this!" The pressure of getting through a storm all by yourself, is tremendous, especially under the impression that everything is up to you and that your destiny is in your hands. Your own strength will prove time and time again to be counterfeit and therefore insufficient. 

In order to come out alive and refined, strength must come to us. It must derive from a place outside of ourselves. We, as human beings, are inherently weak. We see clear evidence of this all around the world, every single day. Even if an individual appears to be able to rely on their own strength, there will always be something that reveals their weakness. Perhaps it's divorce, losing their home, death of a loved one, financial trouble. When we put our hope in people and/or things, we are bound to despair when those people or things are taken from us. 

I know this to be true in my own life. When I was a runner, competing at the collegiate level, doing well in races was an ultimate thing in my life. I was reminded of this idolatry every time I did poorly in a race, especially an important race. I would cry and wrestle with God and beneath every, "Why me?" I felt as if I was being punished. This opened my eyes to the fact that success in running was the god in my life and a very lame and untrustworthy god at that. 

Although suffering is never easy, I can look back in retrospect and say that I am so glad God allowed challenges and heart-wrenching circumstances to come upon me. Why? Because if it were not for the landslides in my life, I would not have known that I had built my life on a poor foundation. 

It was through hardships that God opened my eyes to the truth of the gospel.  I discovered that when I put my hope in Christ, I can never lose. In fact, when we hope in Him we are more than conquerors. 

"We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies." 2 Corinthians 4:8-10 

Christ suffered the ultimate punishment so that we might have life. This means that when we are in Him, we will always have hope. In good times and bad times, Christ in me. When I lose all of my possessions, Christ in me. When a loved one betrays me, Christ in me. When my dreams are shot down, Christ in me. When I am mocked for my faith, Christ in me. When I am tortured, laughed at, even killed for being a Christian, Christ in me. Nothing can separate me from this eternal hope. 

Romans 8:35-39 says, 

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, 'For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.' No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

We cannot know the reason God allows suffering in our lives but one thing is for sure: our sufferings are not signs of God punishing us because Christ already took the punishment on the cross. 

You see, Christ offers us the greatest gift of all: eternal life. This life begins now, on this side of eternity. We can be weak in tough times because God fights for us. In our weakness, He is strong in us. When we walk through the fire, we come out as refined gold.

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:9-11

Perhaps you are going through a rough time right now. If so, please hear me out. Surrender to the one who knows you best and cares for you most. Come to the cross. Kneel before God and know this: He is strong, He is faithful, and if you trust in Him, you can have life everlasting and a hope that withstands all of life's storms.