Just about everybody knows who superman is - the tights, boots, cape and hidden identity are practically a cultural marker for an entire generation. But how does this apply to your past? More importantly, how does it apply to your future?
This blog isn't so much about Superman as it is about his nickname: The man of steel. As humans, we have a strong desire to be safe and secure. We surround ourselves with things that can make us comfortable and secure in life so that when things get hard we won't have anything to worry about. When we have kids, the infamous vow, "I'll never let anything happen to you" comes out. We have a strong desire to live a life of comfort and luxury, where nothing bad can touch us. Ironically, though, it rarely happens. Throughout our lives, it seems we go through struggle after struggle, heartbreak after heartbreak and sometimes it takes a long time before we can get to a place where we can feel safe. We live in a world that is full of divorce, crime, poverty, and death and that in itself makes life exceedingly difficult at times.
It's so easy when things get hard to shut yourself down to God and people because we have this sort of bifocal vision issue. We always look at the close reality that says, "Life Sucks" and we don't look at the larger picture that encompasses your past, present, and future.
Think about the hardest substance you can think of - whether it's steel, obsidian, stone, diamond, or anything else. Now think of how it came to be that way. Steel is first mined, then refined by being melted down and smote to whatever shape it's needed to be in. Obsidian is the result of violent volcanic eruptions that cause massive amounts of devastation. Stone is slowly layed down over hundreds of years and compressed until it's solid. Diamonds are formed in the mantle of the earth and pushed up through deep source eruptions (info from http://geology.com/articles/diamonds-from-coal/). What do all of these have in common? Every single one of these required stress, work, and trials to make. It's the same with people! John 16:33 says, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. " The trials in life help form us into the people God wants us to be! Life is going to be difficult, it's going to have problems that seem unfixable. The important thing is this: The verse doesn't end there and neither does the story! The end of verse 33 says, " But take heart! I have overcome the world." God knew when he created you that you were going to go through a lot of trials. He engineered them specifically for you! You are where you are because God knew that was what would turn you into the person He wanted you to be.
Think about some of the problems you've had in your life. What changed because of it? A huge thing nowadays is debt and not having money. When you get to a place where you aren't in debt, aren't you more careful about your money? It's a huge part of the reason that we make mistakes - so we can learn from them! The next time you feel tempted or that the circumstances you are going through in life are hard or are some sort of punishment, rather than ask God why he is doing this to you, ask Him what He wants you to learn? I can almost guarantee your outlook on the problem and help you to overcome it. At the end of the day, there's always a new morning if you can hold out long enough to see it.
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