Shaped in the Struggle

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose" – Romans 8:28

Pain and problems are not random interruptions to your life. They are often the very tools God uses to shape you. We tend to pray for relief, for the trial to end, for the problem to be solved. But God is often doing something deeper. While we’re asking Him to change our situation, He’s using our situation to change us.

In the middle of your hurt, God is chiseling away things that don’t look like Jesus. He’s building patience when you feel like you’ve waited long enough. He’s teaching humility when pride would rather take over. He’s deepening your faith when fear keeps knocking at the door. The very pressure you wish would go away is the same pressure God uses to mold you into the person He’s calling you to be.

This is not about God delighting in your pain. He doesn’t. But He does refuse to waste it. Every tear, every disappointment, every obstacle can be turned into a tool for transformation. If His ultimate goal is to shape you into the image of His Son, then even the hardest seasons are filled with opportunity. Jesus Himself was “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief,” and yet He walked in perfect obedience to the Father.

When you come out on the other side of a struggle, you’re not the same person who went in. If you let Him, God will make you stronger, more compassionate, more dependent on Him. You’ll find yourself able to comfort others in ways you couldn’t before, because now you understand.

The truth is, God cares about who you are becoming far more than He cares about how comfortable you are. And the person you become through the process is often the greatest gift of the season.

So if you’re in the middle of pain and problems right now, take heart. God is not ignoring you. He’s shaping you. He’s molding you. And every moment you surrender to Him in the process is another step toward becoming more like Jesus.