Pastor Sam Crosby First Baptist Church San Saba
Addelli Grace, known as Addy, will be five years old this Friday. She is number five of six siblings, and one of our 10 grandkids. She informed me while jumping on the trampoline that she had learned how to tie her shoes. “Momma only had to show me two times,” she explained. Her older sister, Maeleigh, countered, “Well Momma only had to show me once and had to show you twice.” Addy’s fire flared a bit as she returned, “Not twice; just two times.”
A few minutes later she was putting her shoes back on. “Papa,” she asked, “would you tie my shoes?” Her older brother, James, interjected, “I thought you knew how to tie your shoes.” Pause. “Well,” she said, “I ask God to help me tie my shoes - and sometimes He does, and sometimes He doesn’t.”
I smiled on the inside, pondering her dilemma. God isn’t a genie that pops out of the bottle every time we rub it with a request. He isn’t a grandfather that gives us everything we want, whether it is good for us or not (I’m working on this). God is a Father who loves us and is always with us, strengthening us in times of need while we grow in grace and faith.
There are seasons of life that are very hard. Adversity is one of God’s tools to remind us of our need for Him. The Lord uses the hardships to purge us of things that might stifle our spiritual growth and also send us to our knees in prayer. People pray more in times of distress. Countless Christians will testify that their greatest growth in the Christian journey was during struggles of life. As Rick Warren so aptly writes, “Adversity is a better teacher than prosperity.”
The Psalmist understood this truth. The longest chapter in the Bible is Psalms 119, which is a celebration of the Word of God. Verse 67 declares, “Before I was afficted I went astray, but now I obey your word.” He continues in verse 71, “It was good for me to be afficted so that I might learn your decrees.” Affiction, as painful as it is, draws our attention back to Jesus Christ and His Word. Verse 75 is even more telling: “I know, Lord, that your laws are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afficted me.” It is the great love of God that allows suffering to keep us close to Him and focused on His Word.
I showed Addy again how to tie her shoes, knowing it would be better for her in life to be able to do it on her own. Her dilemma helped me gain a fresh perspective of God. He is always there and will never leave us. Nothing happens in life without His permission and His presence. If He ever seems distant, that is just our perception. The challenges in life are seasons of spiritual growth.