"Building Character"

I woke up one morning for an early morning Bible Study that met at a restaurant at 6:30 a.m. My mind was still foggy from sleep and I was having problems focusing my eyes. The thought of sleeping for another two hours was a temptation to me and I gave in as I laid my head back down on the pillow. All of sudden I was not feeling quite so sleepy. A thought kept running through my mind, you will miss the message that God has for you this morning. I was going through an extremely difficult time in my life and I knew that I needed to hear God’s word of encouragement.

We were studying the book of James and we focused on this verse for most of the study:
“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.” James 1:12

We also focused on Romans 5:2-5, “And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.”

At that moment in my life I was involved in a situation that was spinning out of control. I don’t feel that it would be appropriate for me to share all of details because of the other people involved. It was related to my job and I was blindsided by what happened. The circumstances were grievous and unreasonable. I was wounded emotionally and spiritually.

That morning I needed to hear God tell me that He would help me through this time in my life and even at that point, I could see God’s grace through the emotional pain that engulfed me.

I found hope that morning as God embraced me and empowered me to meet each challenge as it arose.

As I look back I now realize how God used this painful time in my life to help me grow in my faith and to build my character. What happened all of those years ago has helped to mold me into the person that I am today.