By: Elizabeth Haarberg

God’s Way Is Not Always Linear

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking this SoundCloud link. 

The journey in life is never easy, but when the path is moving toward a goal, the hardships are magnified. Most of us want an easy road toward the destination in life. David, for example, was anointed by Samuel to be the future king, but before he could be crowned he was almost murdered multiple times and was a servant to the current king, Saul, among many other difficult situations. What would have happened if David had become king right after being anointed, like Saul? We’ll never know, but the time spent in the trenches refined and humbled him to be the king Israel was desiring.

“…the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people…”

1 Samuel 13:14 New International Version

David was being primed not only to be king but to maintain and grow the heart that was pursuing God above all else.

What if the hardships and challenges are priming us for our next reign here on earth? What if the path to our goal was easy to accomplish, would we be prepared to handle the blessing? It’s difficult in the moment to determine if the hardship is to be overcome or for us to experience the hard stop so we will turn another way.

“For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

Hebrews 12:11 English Standard Version

We may need to reset ourselves to not see the hardships in front of us as hurdles but to thank God that they may be the exact thing we need at that exact time. Praying and submitting to Jesus to understand more about the situation and hardship in front of us will make the road much more peaceful and possibly enjoyable. Seeing hardships as ways to grow can keep us encouraged as we pursue the calling that God has on our life.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado