The Importance of Struggle

When my kids were young, we spent our days doing science experiments. We studied everything from animals to geology, plants to electronics. Unfortunately for me, some of our experiments included bugs and other like creatures—not a personal favorite! They once had a ant farm where we received an envelope in the mail filled with ants and had to somehow get them all inside a clear plastic rectangular box where they would proceed to tunnel through thick gel while we watched them do their ant thing. Another time, my son decided he wanted to watch the life cycle of meal worms—these we kept in the garage, because, ew! The only one I tolerated was when we studied butterflies.

Like the ant farm, this kit sent caterpillars in the mail that we then had to feed and leave in a mesh enclosure and wait for them to grow, molt, form a chrysalis, and then change into butterflies before setting them free. It’s a fascinating process and one which you are likely familiar. One interesting fact is that when they are about to emerge from the chrysalis, they release a chemical that strengthens their wings so they can fly. They will move inside the chrysalis, pumping this chemical throughout their wings. They have to remain hanging upside down during this process. If they release from the chrysalis early, before this process is complete, their wings will be useless. This means the struggle is important and necessary for their survival as butterflies.

As a rule, we as humans tend to shy away from struggle. We want growth without the growing pains. We want strength without the work. We want God to make us holy immediately rather than have us go through the refiner’s fire. We want life to go smoothly, without hardship or trial. And we want that for our loved ones as well. But the Bible tells us that is not how God works in our lives. It is through struggle that we are transformed. As Paul wrote in Romans 5: “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” (vv.3-4). Hebrews 12 teaches that God disciplines or trains us in order to make us holy and the process is for our good: “he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (vv.10-11).

The Reformer, Martin Luther, describes the Christian life as one of growth. It is a process: “This life therefore is not righteousness, but growth in righteousness, not health, but healing, not being but becoming, not rest but exercise. We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing toward it, the process is not yet finished, but it is going on, this is not the end, but it is the road. All does not yet gleam in glory, but all is being purified.” God is preparing us now for eternity. He is stripping away all that is impure within us. He is reshaping us into the image of his Son. And one day, when we stand in his presence, that process will be complete. We will be whole and healed. We will be glorified.

When we watched our butterflies do their work to leave their chrysalis, had we interfered in some way, or tried to quicken the process, we would have kept them from transforming into butterflies. They needed to struggle. And when they finished the struggle and began flying around the little mesh tent, we brought them outside, unzipped the door, and set them free.

We are all in process. God is doing a good work in us. May we not resist the struggle.

Photo by Dominik Rešek on Unsplash

The Comfort of Our Good Shepherd

I’m a city girl. I was born in a city and know little of what life is like on a ranch or farm or even a small village. Yet the Bible often uses illustrations related to agrarian life: sowing and harvesting, vines and vineyards, sheep and shepherds. These illustrations were ones God’s people could relate to for most people lived off the land and knew the work involved. Even today, just outside the city of Jerusalem, the hills are dotted with sheep and their shepherds. When our family toured Israel, we got to meet shepherds and learned about their nomadic life as they herd sheep from one hill to the next.

Psalm 23 is a psalm that is beloved by many and is one I memorized as a child. Midway through, it says: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (v.4). I remember visiting a place in Israel referred to as “the valley of shadow of death.” It was a dark valley that sojourners often traveled on their way to the city of Jerusalem, a place where thieves often took advantage of travelers. Seeing that valley helped put this passage in perspective for me.

In Psalm 23, the shepherd’s rod and staff are a comfort in the dark valley. A shepherd was known to carry a staff to use in keeping and guarding his sheep. As our shepherd, God comforts us with his rod and staff. Here are just a few ways we find comfort in God’s staff:

He uses his rod to rule: A shepherd used his rod to rule over the sheep. He told them where to go; he was their master who led them from one grazing hill to another. Likewise, God is our ruler; he reigns over all things. He governs our life. He determines where we go. He is the one we look to for guidance and wisdom. When we go through dark valleys, he leads us. He shows us the direction to take. He warns us away from dangerous paths. And we can trust him to bring us through the valley and to the other side.

He uses his rod to count:  A shepherd often used his rod to count his sheep as they walked by him. Likewise, our Father chose us in Christ to be a part of his flock and he knows each of us by name. Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me” (John 10:14). When we wander from God, he goes to whatever lengths necessary to bring us back to him, “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?” (Matthew 18:12). When we walk through dark valleys and lose our way, we can rest assured that our shepherd will never lose us. He will seek us and find us and bring us back to himself.

He uses his rod to guide: A shepherd used the crook of his rod to pull back sheep when they wandered from the flock. He also used it to chastise them. When they were slow or distracted, he used the rod to prod them. So the Lord does with us. As the writer to Hebrews 12:5-6 said, “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” Sometimes our dark valleys are places where the Lord brings us for purposes of training or discipline. We can trust that he does so out of love. He desires that we grow and mature. His rod is a tool used to guide us into greater holiness.

He uses his rod to protect: The shepherd also used his rod to protect his sheep from wild animals. So too, God protects us from evil. Some valleys are so dark it seems as though God has forgotten us. It can be tempting to doubt his love and goodness. We can wonder if we’ll ever see the light of day. We can fear being lost forever. Psalm 23 teaches us that we can have confidence that our shepherd will never leave us or forsake us. There is nothing and no one that can keep us from his love. He will keep us from all evil (see Romans 8:38-39). He will ensure we make it safely home to him.

While I am a city girl, I know what it’s like to wander and stray from where I belong. I know what it’s like to need guidance and direction. And I know what it’s like to walk through dark valleys of life. I am a sheep in need of a good shepherd. God is my Good Shepherd who protects and keeps me in his care.

Even when I walk through the darkest valleys.

Photo by Antonello Falcone - The Wiseman on Unsplash