learning curve

 I remember when I was young, I loved to help my mom bake. I would sit in that kitchen, asking her questions and trying to help as much as she would let me. When I was about ten, I declared that I was going to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies all by myself. My mother said she would be around if I needed her.  I was quite certain I would make great cookies all by myself.  I started out great but as a batch was in the oven, I got distracted by something else.  I realized my cookies might burn and rushed to pull the cookies from the oven. I realized too late that I had forgotten the hot pad. I grabbed that sheet of cookies bare handed, burning my hand badly.  I knew right away I needed my mom.  She quickly doctored my hand and finished baking the cookies.  I felt that burn for several days.  I learned quickly that day, that hot pads are truly necessary and I still think of that incident today when I open a hot oven. I still have a love for baking and my baking skills have greatly increased. That day, I had a jump in my learning curve.

What is a learning curve? It is defined as the rate of a person's progress in gaining new experience ir new skills.  This applied to every new skill or experience we have.  We all learn at different rates and speeds. Some experiences give a great amount of experience and others bring us forward little by little.  This applied to our spiritual walk as well.  

I was raised in church and learned early on, that that does not make me any better or less of a sinner than anyone else.  We are all born into sin and we all are in desperate need of the Savior. I learned Bible stories and memorized verses.  This has been a foundation on which I have been able to stand as an adult. But those stories and verses are not enough for a lifetime. I needed to learn to more about God, experience God for myself and learn from my own experiences, good and bad. 

As I became an adult, I had to determine for myself that God was there for me as well.  I had friends who walked away from God as soon as they were no longer at home with parents. I had others who were determined to walk toward God with all their heart and soul.  I had to make a decision for myself to serve God.  Looking back, that was an easy decision. But making the decision over and over in the face of adversity, trial and loss is a bit harder.  I have learned that God is always present and never leaves or forsakes his children.  When I choose Him, he always responds to work for my good.  Not what I want, but for my good.  I have learned that Bible study and prayer are deeply important to my spiritual growth. I have learned that church attendance and fellowship are important for spiritual development. I have learned that fasting is necessary at times. I have learned that my life has no meaning without Christ as the center. 

I have also learned that being a Christian is not about being perfect. I used to look at older saints and never imagine they made any mistakes. I wondered how I could ever live up to that standard.  I have learned that I do not need to be perfect and neither were any of these saints. Churches are filled with imperfect people and that is what makes church so wonderful.  Matthew 5:48 in the Amplified Version says, You, therefore, will be perfect [growing into spiritual maturity both in mind and character, actively integrating godly values into your daily life], as your heavenly Father is perfect. Jesus was telling us to work toward maturity and grow in the spirit, not expect to never make a mistake again.  His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23) and he knows humans are not perfect, he does expect us to grow and learn. To perfect is to finish or complete a work in us. We all make mistakes. We all say or do things that are not from a heart of love. We all have moments that our past and sinful nature attempt to rise up. We all get tired, grumpy, frustrated, disappointed and even allow those things to dominate our thoughts and actions. We are not perfect. We may see others fall, we may fall ourselves. We may be hurt by words from another. This does not mean we are not going to make it through or be loved by Christ. Instead, it speaks of the need to learn from the experience, fall into the arms of Jesus again, and allow him to work on our hearts. These moments bring us further along the spiritual learning curve. The decisions we make in those moments determine our growth in Christ. Do we call out," I need to you God!" Do we turn away in shame and give up?  These decisions bring about growth or destruction to our soul.  Do we pray and reach out to the fallen and hurt or write them off as another one who could not serve?  Our decisions to determine our growth.

Hebrews 13:21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.  This verse tells me that God will work on me as I submit to him and allow him to work on me. He will change me and develop growth in me to make me more like him. He is able to change my imperfections, forgive me when I fall, and lift me up to better.  He will make me well pleasing, I cannot be changed and increased in faith without him. 

2 Corinthians 12:9 says his strength in perfect in my weakness. When I am disappointed, see fault in others or myself, I can lean on his strength. He will carry me through. I do not need to expect perfection from myself or anyone else. I can expect to hurt, disappointed, and find that faults can be hard for relationships. But, God's grace and mercy can be extended to me and to others. God's grace and love will cover a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8)  When we love with the love of God, we can become an encourager of those who struggle, and a lifter up of the fallen. When we place our faith in Christ through all circumstances, we become a testimony of faith. When we run after God and His purpose, we grow in strength, faith, love, and humility.

 We are all somewhere on this learning curve of faith. Some have had great experiences that have developed deep faith quickly, some of us are taking baby steps all along the way.  We can only pray one for another and love one another as Christ loves us. (John 13:34-35)  We are not called to be perfect, but to work toward perfection or maturity in Christ. He will finish the work, consecrate us and complete his plan in us as we submit to him. 

There is a funny picture that shows our plan verses God's plan. It shows us planning out a straight line straight to glory, but God's plan is full of ups and downs, curves and bumps, all of which break off the sin nature, cause growth and bring about the spiritual perfection he seeks to give us. We learn to trust him through each and every curve, up and down. We grow through the learning process. We are all in a process. May we support one another, help one another and give grace to one another, including ourselves as we go through the process of learning to be like Jesus. 

where is God when life gets hard

 In this life, we are all going to have times that life gets hard. Unfortunately, we live in a fallen, broken world where bad things happen. We must realize that we are subject to this world of sin because we live here in this physical world. There are consequences of this life rather by our own doing or by no fault of our own. We go through loss, pain, hurt, and times when things don't turn out the way we had planned or hoped. We face trials and temptations. It is so easy to sit down, give up, and wallow in the misery and sorrow. These times can overwhelm us, defeat us and destroy our faith if we give in to the emotions and struggle. We can easily become angry and bitter at God. We can blame him and easily say, "Where are you, God?" as it seems he is far away. 

 These times are not times that God has abandoned us. Not by any means. He has promised to never leave us or forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5) He does not abandon us when hard times come. Rather, he is there to carry us and encourage us. He is there at all times. He does not it back and watch us struggle to see what would happen. He rather provides what we need and often prepares the situation for our good. 

Hard times can produce increase in strength. When we continue to place our faith in God through the hard, impossible moments, our faith will grow and strengthen. Strength will come as faith is put to the test. Paul encouraged Timothy to endure hardness. 

Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.  Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 2 Timothy 2:1-3 

This increase and endurance becomes a testimony to teach others of how God can bring us through the hard times. Others will see you endure and be encouraged that they too can endure. Strength will increase in your faith. 

Hard times increase faith. In Luke 17, Jesus explained to the disciples that offences come and they needed to take heed to themselves to forgive those that sin against them. The disciples response was in Luke 17:5 when they said Lord, increase our faith.  They understood that only faith could help them respond as Christ was instructing. Faith should be the response to hurt and struggle. 

Faith grows when tested. Temptations come and in 1 Corinthians 10:13, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."  This tells us that God has already prepared a way for us to say no to temptation. He has equipped us but we need to take action in this circumstance whether it be to call on him in prayer, reach out to a fellow believer for support, or just get out of the situation that is tempting us. We must guard against temptation and be aware enough to not purposely put ourselves in situations that temptation becomes too great. 

Hard times should draw us closer to Christ. Often, in hard times, the human response to push God away and allow fear to overwhelm.  God wants us to get closer to him. He is a place of refuge and shelter for the storms. James 4:8 tells us to draw closer to God and he will draw closer to us. Psalms 9:9 says he is a refuge for the oppressed in times of trouble and Psalms 46:1 says he is our refuge and strength and a very present help in time of trouble. We can run to him and find strength and help. He will be our shelter and our rock. He will wrap his loving arms around us and hold us as we go through the trial. He is described as covering us with his wings like a hen does her chicks (Psalms 91:4) We can rely on God through the hard times. 

God is love. He does not abandon us in hard times. There are so many verses that give us hope. There are many examples in the Bible and in our church families that speak of God's faithfulness through the fire. God brings us through. Whatever trial may come, God is there. Those dark moments and hard times reveal God's love. We must turn to God in the struggle, not run from him. How can we do this? Read the word. pray, and listen. His word is full of life and hope. Find hope in his word. Pray. Talk to God about the hard times. He is present and ready to listen. He cares about what we care about. He tells us to cast our cares on him and he will sustain us. (1 Peter 5:7, Psalms 55:22).  He will listen. Every prayer is precious to him. Then, listen to what God has to say.  So many times, God is speaking to our hearts and we may be so caught up in the emotions of the situation, we may miss what he is saying. He speaks comfort and peace if we listen. He may provide direction in how to proceed. He may speak and encourage us to wait as he works it for our good. We need to listen to hear his voice. So many times, when I have taken time to listen, I have heard his voice say exactly what I needed for that moment. He has spoken love, peace, comfort, and instructed me at times when I needed him. He has proven over and over his love for me. 

Be encouraged that when hard times come, God is already prepared for the battle and the struggle. He has equipped us to endure hardness, and he is the strength we need. We can rely on his faithfulness. We will grow and become a walking testimony of who God is in the trial. He is the strong tower, the strength we need, and the One who has worked it all for our good. He is the Lord of triumph and victory. He is there when life gets hard.