Making Sense of Nonsense!!!

I make so bold as to declare that pain, trials and tribulations, and disappointment and hurt, are all necessary parts of living a good story! For that matter, they are essential parts of God shaping our lives for His purpose. You see, living through these circumstances forces change in us, especially because humans, by nature are not given to readily accepting and embracing change (especially when it moves us out of our comfort zone) without a “prompting.”

Every branch of the special forces of the US military “forces” change by inducing more pain than any normal person thinks they can endure. At the end of their torturous training, ordinary men become precision weapons, and well oiled machines because of the changes they have had to undergo in order to successfully become whatever special force it is they aspire to become. Those who resist or cannot endure the change, are destined to fail, or doomed to repeat the cycle of training until they embrace and fully accept the change necessary for success.

I find it exceedingly difficult to wrap my mind around the fact that, if you want to become a coast guard rescue swimmer, you must first learn to embrace death by drowning. What? If you think about it carefully though, it really makes sense. In order for you to rescue someone from drowning, while yourself contending with twenty foot high waves in the middle of the ocean with no land in sight, you must first know what it feels like to drown so that you can anticipate and prepare for their reactions. Failing this, you may well find yourself drowning too. So in training, they simulate worst case scenarios so that you can experience drowning before you ever really have to experience drowning. Make sense?

God’s broader purpose for us is to be used by Him to change our world so that it embraces Him. In a sense, this cannot happen until we embrace the changes that He’s orchestrating in us. Often, as God’s changes reshape and alter our perspectives and our world view, He also alters our assignments. Gideon went from being a farmer to being a general. Mary went from peasant girl to mother of Messiah. Paul went from local Rabbi to world evangelist. Joseph went from rejected and scorned kid brother to Prince of Egypt. David went from goat herder to king of Israel, and Peter from fisherman to first church leader. In each one of these cases, the process of change was painful, and was not without its unique trials and tribulations, but the “fruit” of each one of their changes is still being felt in our world today.

I'll finish my thoughts on this idea tomorrow. In the meantime, feel free to share yours.