Problems and painful experiences as opportunities for growth? Just as much as the next person, I hear this idea and I think, “Doesn’t sound like fun to me.” My flesh rebels against such an idea and says, “Wouldn’t it just be better if the problems would go away?” But, I have to check that thought against what I really know to be true. When I do that, I find that I am reminded that the Bible tells us that as people, we are the clay in the Potter’s hands and that He is working to mold us as He sees fit. (Jer. 18:1-7). I wonder how it must be to be the Potter and to be working to refine the clay only to have the clay try to wrestle away and try to mold itself into what the clay thinks it should be. I think surely if I could just be the clay at rest in the Potter’s hands it would make it much easier for Him to form me as He sees fit, shaping me into what He intends and pressing out imperfections. But, how to do that?
Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend take the perspective that we have 2 ways we can allow ourselves to grow through life’s problems and I have seen how God can transform lives through these 2 steps in both my life and in the lives of those I have counseled. They are: 1) Look upward and 2) Look inward.
Looking upward in times of struggle, we look to God and we can call out to Him in the midst of our pain. Much relief is gained simply by expressing our pain and recognizing that there is healing power in allowing God in to the depths of our despair.
After we have looked upward and shared our pain with God, we can then allow Him to journey inward and begin to reveal areas where we might need to make some changes. We can start to look inside ourselves and see areas where we might need to change our perspective, our thought processes, or how we are behaving in certain relationships. Those are the places where the Potter’s hands can be at work, molding and shaping us as He sees fit. So although it may not feel like much fun journeying through our pain and problems, when we look upward and inward in the midst of them, we often find areas we can grow and become clay that is more refined and more like He intended us to be.
Casey West