“They were strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to persevere in faith, and saying, “It is through many persecutions that we must enter the kingdom of God.””

Acts 14:22 TLV

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just “skip to the good part,” right past the trials and tribulations? It might be nice, but it’s not realistic. After all, where there is growth, there is pain, and if you’ve had children or spent time around them, you know that “growing pains” can be sudden and enduring. 

One of my favorite rom-coms is “Letters to Juliet”. While searching for Claire’s Lorenzo, they come upon a beautiful, sprawling villa when Charlie quips, “Well, wouldn’t this be nice, Gran? Going from a boy who works the fields to a man who owns them. And you got to skip the messy bits.” Gran, Claire, wisely responds, “Life is the messy bits, darling.” 

Life is the messy bits. There’s a lot of wisdom in that quote. Life is messy and unpredictable, hard and crazy, and it is also beautiful. As a human, struggle is an experience that does not discriminate. 

For Believers, persecution is a requirement of the journey. We don’t make it to the other side without it. The Greek word for persecution in this passage is thlip’-sis, meaning anguish, burdened, persecution, tribulation, or trouble. It is also the word used to describe the distress a woman experiences during labor. When a baby is born they are squeezed and pushed through the birth canal. I’ve seen plenty of babies with pointed heads because they spent so long in the birth canal. That’s the image in this passage. We experience a pressing and bending, a forming and shifting as we are molded into His image. And like it is with the birth of a new born, if we’ll just keep going, if we’ll keep yielding to the pressing and persevere, we will have and experience breathtaking beauty at the miracle of our lives. He’s not done. He’s just shaping and shifting us. There’s pressure, but there’s also the promise of life – life with Him. 

Life is the messy bits – and from the mess comes something beautiful. 

Father – thank You for Your grace and truth. Thank You for speaking to me day after day. Help me to embrace the messy and trust You to do and to bring something beautiful from the ashes of my life. You are good and You keep doing good. Your leadership in my life is perfect and You can be trust. Amen.

Daily Reading: Acts 13-14

November 21, 2022