There are times when life can be hard. There are other times when life is easy going. I’m sure all of us can agree that we truly appreciate those easier times. However, there is a purpose for those hard times. I know it may not seem like it, but there is a purpose to it all.

 “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” – Ecclesiastes 3:1

There is a purpose for all the hard times we go through. They are to teach us something about ourselves or to teach us something about God. They are to teach us a new skill or to help us grow in a certain field. They are to help us grow closer to God and to see how much we really need Him. God sometimes allows things to happen in our lives so that we may grow in Him and use what we’ve learned for His purpose. 

“For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” – Jeremiah 29:11

An example I can give you is Joseph. Joseph loved God with all his heart. Yet he was sold into slavery, sent to prison on wrongful charges, and was betrayed by those closest to him (his brothers). However, through it all, God was with him. Even in the midst of all the bad, Joseph was learning new skills that he ended up using to save countless people from a famine. God took all those bad things and made it into something good. 

Another example for you. Jesus was perfect. He is God incarnated. Yet, He wasn’t born into riches nor was He accepted by the high priests and teachers of the law. For most of us, it would be extremely difficult to live life not knowing where your next meal is coming from or where you’ll be sleeping that night. However, Jesus kept His faith in God and God provided. At the end of His life, Jesus went through immense torture and immense heartache, even though He was innocent. Yet, even His death has a purpose. It has the utmost purpose. To save EVERYONE who believes in Him and to wash them of their sins. It is because of something as terrible as His death that we can have a close relationship with God.

 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” – John 3:16

Have any of you ever heard of sea glass? Basically it’s glass that has been discarded or lost in the ocean. Over the course of several years, these pieces of glass are tossed around the ocean being weathered down by friction from whatever they come in contact with. In the end, they come to be these beautiful pieces of glass that people to this day pay good money to use in art or to display in their homes. I’ve come to realize that life is like that. We are tumbled and tossed around in life, going through so much. However, rather than just being shattered to pieces, God gets us through it all and makes us beautiful.

 “I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken from it…” –  Ecclesiastes 3:14

I don’t know if you are going through a tough time right now, but know that God will get you through this. He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us, and God is always true to His promises. Know that these hard times won’t last forever and in the end, you will come out stronger. Don’t lose faith in Him. Keep your eyes on Him and you will see the light in the darkness. Jesus loves you and has shown you His love time and time again. Don’t lose hope.

“I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3:14