If It's Hard...

One of the workouts we do during the week is Daily Burn. It's a new fun workout everyday and it encourages and inspires us to live a healthy lifestyle. The other day, one of the trainers said, "If it's hard, that means something inside is changing." We've all heard similar phrases with fitness like, "no pain, no gain" and other cliches. But, when I heard the trainer say this, I started thinking about more than just my workout.

"If it's hard, that means something inside is changing."

I started thinking of some of the hard and painful things I have had to walk through and then what I look like now on the other side. I started thinking of my relationship with the Lord and how much deeper it is because I have walked through hardship and had to rely totally on Him. And, as hard as those times were, I am so grateful for what has changed in me and what my relationship with the Lord looks like now compared to how it was before those times. 

I think sometimes, especially for those of us who have been in the church a long time, we have a lot of head knowledge, but not a lot of experience or heart change. I can learn about the Lord and memorize Scripture, but sometimes it is not until I am tested that it begins to take root. I can read, believe and know that He is my Comforter, but it takes on a much deeper meaning when I actually have to walk through something where I need to be comforted by Him. It's in the times when it's hard, yet I make the choice to press into Him that change happens and the truths in the Bible become even more real to me. 

So many times we want to run from hardship, pain, hurt, disappointment, failure, etc., but if I run away from it or quit, change will never happen in me. When I face the pain head-on with my Daily Burn workout, my muscles become stronger, and when I face the pain head-on in life, holding on to Jesus, my relationship with Him becomes stronger and I get to actually experience the amazing truths in the Word and His freedom first hand! 

How much hurt, pain, and sadness do we live with for years and years that weigh us down because we are too scared to face it head-on. What if we didn't quit when things were hard? What if we didn't run from pain? Sometimes we just need to take small baby steps forward.  If I am wanting to do 50 push-ups but can only do 3, I have to learn to take baby steps forward to reach my goal. If I stop at 3 every time because that's what is comfortable, I will never reach my goal. It's when I do 4, 5 or 6, even when it hurts, that change starts to happen and I get stronger. We have to learn to take a step forward in our pain to see change happen. 

I love reading Psalms to see how David presented his pain and suffering to the Lord. I love how he was so raw in expressing what he was going through, but most of all I love how he always ended with, "but, You, Lord..." and would declare the promises of the Lord.  Psalm 13 out of the Passion Translation starts with, "I am hurting, Lord" but ends with, "I will sing my song of joy to You, the Most High, for in all this You have strengthened my soul."

I am learning to face the pain in life knowing that in all of it, He is strengthening my soul and drawing me closer to Him. I am learning that, just like David, it is possible to sing a song of joy in the midst of hardship. I am learning to stand on the promise of hope, joy, and freedom beyond what I can imagine as I face the pain and hand it to Him. I am so grateful for what He has done in my life!

In James out of The Message it says, "Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You'll get His help, and won't be condescended to when you ask for it."

Let's make the decision to refuse to quit when things get hard. Let's choose to not be afraid or ashamed of pain. Let's declare His promises over our lives.  Let's be encouraged that "if it's hard, that means something inside is changing." And with Him, it is always changing for the better!