Learning Through Difficulty: Overcoming Challenges

Feb 19, 2024

4 min read

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Recently while I was journaling to God I wrote, "You give REST. Coming to you isn't weak or embarrassing. It honors you. It shows the world and myself who my source is."

Why do we feel like that sometimes? Like going to God is admitting we are not able to do it on our own and that is embarrassing. I mean, I hate to break it to us but- we're not able to do it on our own. AND THAT'S A GOOD THING. We need a mind shift. We need to go from embarrassing to embracing that this is what we are supposed to do and what we're created to do. We are supposed to lean on Him.

Let me give you a scripture and a few uncovers and points:

28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

You may be feeling weary right now. If you are not weary, you will eventually get weary. And there will be times where we pick up heavy burdens we're not supposed to pick up. We're human. It happens and things happen.

Usually when you hear this passage repeated, people like to quote the "...for my yoke is easy and my burden is light" part. Which if you just read/remember that - you think cool, when I choose God's yoke, he will just grant me an easier and light burden. 🎉 But God just doesn't ✨poof✨ - EASY life. There is still a process in which you participate in - and in the process he is TEACHING you. So when you recognize this and are ready to learn, keep these points in mind:

What is God teaching me? I get it. When we are going through pain, our number one reaction isn't always, YAY what can I learn from this?! Fun. But there does come a point in a long-term season of trial/suffering where we are faced to choose how we are going to continue through the process. You can stay stagnant in your pain, anger, etc. OR say, no, I'm going to get through this so while I am here, what can I learn. So when all is said and done, I get the good and God gets the glory. Ask God to open your eyes and ears and heart to what he is showing you in the season you are in- and then posture yourself to be aware.
Remember Who Your Teacher is. When you choose to learn, remember that your teacher is gentle and humble. God isn't bringing "bad" upon you to teach you a lesson. That's not his heart. He does turn the bad around for good though. We need to remember who our Father is. Our upbringing or past hurts from people who are close to us or authority figures can skew how we view God. We need to separate the two (that is why it's so important to read the Bible, so you can identify who God is!) He is gentle, meaning meek. It's power with undue harshness. He is humble, meaning lowly in spirit. Think about a loving parent trying to teach their child something. When I teach Jet or Em something, I try my best to teach so they can follow along, slowly understand. I try to pause so they can absorb and give them room to practice (this makes me sound better than I am but I try 😉). THIS IS WHAT GOD DOES FOR YOU. He moves at a pace that you can keep up, he reveals slowly so you can eventually understand fully, he gives space for you to absorb and process, and room for you to practice, stretch your faith and live out what you believe. Trust God. He loves you.
Remember what "REST" for your soul actually means. "Soul" a wonderful word slapped on a bunch of encouraging Home Goods decorative plaques. But rest for your soul is literally incredible. No one can do this for you but God. You are spirit, soul, and body. Your mind, your will, your emotions make up your soul. The original word for "rest" here means, intermission from labor, refresh. So what does this really mean for you - Rest in my thought life? Rest in my choices? Rest in the decisions I have to make? Rest in every emotional wave? There is rest in the distress. What a promise, that there is rest while you bear the weight.
As you are learning you are building. Everyone likes to say, "Lord, build my faith!" I've done it too, but in order to build your faith, you have to actually go through stuff that sucks. It's the point where you rise to the occasion and trust on a whole other level. When you are building your faith, you are welcoming difficulty and saying, ok, I'm in it, now watch me depend on God. The yoke you take up are not egg yokes. Yokes would rest on the neck of oxen to balance or "pair the scales" so both animals could pull together. So they can move together and work as one. When you are paired with God, you're not pulling alone and not only are you not pulling alone. You are paired with his strength! It's like the Super Star star in Mario. Do do do do do do do do do do (insert song here). As you are learning you a building upon your faith, testing the waters and strengthening it.

When you find yourself in difficulty, I challenge you to open your eyes. Go to your source! Embrace that you are supposed to come to him. Don't be embarassed. It shows you and the world who your God is. He will sustain you. That is a beautiful picture that we all need to see.