Grow Through It

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior”


Isaiah 43:2–3





I read a quote the other day that said, “God chooses what we go through, we choose how we go through it.” My hope today for you, my friends is that you don’t just go through whatever God is leading you into but that you choose to grow through it. Even the painful things in life can produce some of the sweetest fruit when we remember, “God never wastes a hurt”. James 1:2-4 teaches us, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing”.

1 Peter 1:6-7 puts it another way, “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ”. For a few years now my wife and I have a friend who has been struggling through a very difficult marriage and who has tried to do everything she possibly could to save her marriage but her husband decided he no longer wanted to be married. It’s hard watching people you care about suffer, especially when they can’t do anything to change the circumstances. Growth is a slow process and often times painful but we are so proud of how she is coming out on the other side. She most certainly didn’t choose the path she is on but she has chosen to seek God’s glory along the way.

Here is a note she sent me yesterday that I pray speaks to you if you are hurting today, if the path you are on feels like an uphill climb and you aren’t sure if you can make it. The note said, “Once the storm is over, you may or may not remember how you made it through. You survived, despite your fears. In fact, the storm might not have even passed just yet. But one thing is for certain, you became stronger in Christ because He was with you in the downpour. He comforted you, counseled you, taught you, and strengthened you. The rain made you grow, in Him. He never left you. He was there the whole time, being everything you truly needed.”

How can you and I come to know these truths for ourselves? Choose in advance that no matter what, we will hold onto Jesus. Like Job 23:10 reminds us, knowing God is good Job could say with confidence, “But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.” Two truths I came to know the day I opened my own heart to Jesus are, “When you hit rock bottom you will discover Jesus is rock solid” and “I never realized Jesus was all I needed until Jesus was all I had.” God is faithful and we can trust if He brings us to it, He will see us through it for the simple fact that no one ever lives with regret who keeps trusting in Jesus and walks with Him.

“… and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”

John 15:2

I LOVE YOU!