Purposefully Suffering

I could end this year with a blog telling you all the amazing things that happened in my life. I could potentially brag and boast about all the tangible things that God blessed me with. I could tell you all about increase in every area of my life. But I don’t know if that would do any good. And truthfully, though He did do some of those things and I’m grateful for them, it’s not what’s most important.

I actually came to talk to you about suffering. And I’m sure you’re questioning why on earth would you want to end the year talking about that.

You see this was actually sparked by a recent encounter I had with someone who decided they no longer wanted to interact with me because they only heard the part of the conversation where I said, “Sometimes God causes us to suffer...” but they negated to complete the thought with the remainder of what I said which was “because there is a greater lesson on the other side of whatever He is causing us to suffer for or through.”

I had to suffer through some things this year. The definition of suffer is to experience or to be subjected to something bad or unpleasant.

I suffered through financial stress.

I suffered through issues in my marriage.

I suffered through loss/changes in friendship.

I suffered through feeling lost & confused about my purpose.

I suffered through comparison and feeling like I wasn’t where I should be in my life and in my business.

I. Suffered.

And I’m sure you dealt with some suffering, too.

Now, I don’t want anyone confused and thinking that for me 2018 was a terrible year. Because it wasn’t, there were many great moments. But I believe those moments were as great as they were because of the suffering I had to go through. Just because I experienced some bad & unpleasant things that caused me to become uncomfortable, I know that I wasn't meant to endure the suffering long-term.

And that’s because I was suffering purposefully.

My pain had a purpose. The loss(es) had a purpose. Every test and every trial had a purpose.

The purpose was so that I could truly find out who God was so He could show me who I truly am. Not defined by money, cars, or clothes, or the identity of someone else but allowing every experience to draw me closer to Him so I could find my true identity in Him.

It wasn’t easy enduring so much suffering, but it was worth because it brought me closer to Him & the purpose and destiny over my life.

If you’ve found yourself where it seemed like 2018 didn’t go how you thought it would, I dare you to change your mindset for a moment and look at through the lens of what those rough moments taught you or you showed. And I’ll be you will see that just like me everything you went through was intentional.

You were suffering purposefully.