How God Uses Our Hard Times to Bless Us and Help Others
Psssst…if you prefer videos over reading, you can watch the video version of this blog here (or just scroll to the bottom of the blog).
Have you ever had a painful surgery?
If you have, then you know how difficult the recovery process can be.
When I had a C-section with my son Elijah, it took me weeks before I could even walk again.
There were moments where I had to have someone to bring my baby to me because I couldn’t bare the pain of walking to pick him up.
Although God was still apart of my life during that recovery process, reading my Bible wasn’t enough to heal me from a very natural area of pain.
I still had to gradually learn how to use my legs again and move around without pain.
So, how does this relate to today’s blog?
Well, much like that challenging period of healing in my life, we all go through moments where we ask God, “Ugh, why do I have to go through this? You are GOD, aren’t you? Well, how come you can’t just make this situation go away?”
I have been there, too.
We have all had those moments where we want God to heal a natural situation in an instant and miraculous way.
But, if every healing was instant, there would be no process.
It’s the process that teaches you how to lean on God during your hard times so you’ll know how to stick with Him during your great times.
Sometimes we are steady looking for God to solve our problems in a miraculous way, but the miracle is actually in the process itself.
In the process…
We learn to slow down, appreciate what’s truly important, and humble ourselves.
We gain compassion for others who have to go through the same struggles as us.
We gain ideas and new perspectives that can help us to financially prosper.
Hmm… Ideas and financial prosperity through a hard time?..
What do I mean by that last point?
Well, if you do your research you’ll see that some of the most successful business ideas originated from places of pain and a compassionate desire to help others.
For example…
Madam CJ Walker started her hair care products because her hair was falling out. That led her to making her own line of hair care products and she became the first African American woman to become a self-made millionaire.
Years after getting bullied for having “bushy, thick” eyebrows, Tania Speaks developed a product to help tame her brows. She started selling the product in her high school’s bathroom, trade shows, and eventually her own website. At 19 years old, her product made over a million in revenue and she received a deal from Mark Cuban after being featured on an episode of Shark Tank.
Tiffany Krumins, founder of ‘Ava the Elephant’, was a caregiver who needed a way to easily give medicine to a patient with Down syndrome. Searching for a way to soothe the patient’s anxiety, she created a kid-friendly medicine dispenser. That product invention has been immensely successful and featured on The Today Show, Forbes magazine, and TEDex.
These are just a few examples, but you get the picture.
The presence of pain creates a need to heal a problem.
It’s that healing process that places us in a position to help others and even reap the fruits of our own labor.
If every healing that God did was instantaneous, there would be no one that could relate to your pain, your struggle, or your story.
Remember that you too once benefitted from the fact that someone could relate to your problem, but only because they had also been through your struggle.
Hard times connect us to one another.
If we let them, they’ll also carry us to a place of provision.
So, instead of asking God to take the pain away, ask Him what He wants you to do with it.
What you’ve been begging Him to take away could very well be the key to your prosperity. …Selah.
You can watch the video version of this blog on my YouTube channel by clicking below:
