Growth through the Problems
By Anthony Casperson
9-28-24

The discussion went all over the place. Sure, the pair of people on the video had a specific topic that was meant to guide the conversation, but the conversation had a very stream-of-conscience sense to it.

During one section of the video, they got onto the idea of suffering as a follower of Jesus. In particular, how so many of us think that if there’s something going wrong in our lives, then God doesn’t love us anymore. Something that is untrue.

One of the presenters likened it to marriage. He said, imagine a person who expected life with their spouse should always be perfect. Nothing could ever go wrong. And their spouse will always make them super happy. But then, one day, the spouse doesn’t spend the same amount of time with them, so this imaginary person starts to believe that their spouse no longer loves them. Most of us would consider that the person should step back for a minute and realize that life won’t always exist in the highs of the relationship.

Every relationship that goes on long enough will eventually get out of the “honeymoon phase” where everything is always sunshine, butterflies and rainbows. There should come times when things become difficult, because it’s through the difficulties of life that we often grow the most.

The presenter continued that if you ask a couple who’s been married for 80 years if they’ve always had good times without any problems at all, they’ll definitely say that there were difficult moments. And while few would focus on the difficulties, they would all likely say that it was in those moments of trials and troubles that they grew closer together as a couple.

When the troubles become a problem, is when we think that we have to remain in the “honeymoon phase” of the relationship, or else we’re not loved anymore. And that’s true of both marriage and our relationship with God.

Sticking to the side of that comparison for which I actually have experience, our spiritual lives don’t have to stay in that “honeymoon phase” of always feeling warm fuzzies from God in order for it to be good. We’re not unloved by God—not unseen by him—just because we’re struggling through the difficulties of life right now.

We can be in the midst of tragic lows in life—a place that leaves us with doubts and questions—but that doesn’t remove God’s love and care for us. The difficulties of life can surround every aspect of our lives, leave us feeling like there’s no solution in sight, but God is still right there with us. And he’s ready to comfort us.

And that’s true whether or not we actually get through this. (Whatever that “this” is for us.)

Those who have read many of these blogs knows that I’ve written about this type of thing quite often before. And yet, even I still need the reminder from time to time. That’s part of my reason for writing about it so often. We all need the reminder.

Since I also came across a related passage during my morning bible reading this week, I figured it might be a good thing to write about again. So here we go.

In Isaiah 36-37, we see that the king of the Assyrians had his sights set on taking out the Kingdom of Judah. His army had already wiped the floor with a number of the surrounding nations—including the Northern Kingdom of Israel, the 10 tribes who rejected the Davidic dynasty as king over them.

The Assyrian king even sunk to scare tactics by sending a few officials to proclaim Assyria’s intentions, in full view of Jerusalem’s populace. These officials even chose to speak in Hebrew, instead of their own language, so that all the people could hear.

And their message was that the people of Jerusalem shouldn’t trust in their king, Hezekiah. Or rely on their God either.

(There was also a misunderstanding on the part of those officials, where they said that because Hezekiah had broken down the altars of the high places, the God of Israel wouldn’t be pleased with them. But the fact that those outside of the people of God misunderstand how true worship of Yahweh works is a topic for another day.)

Regardless, the whole threat made the people of Jerusalem afraid. They feared that the words of the Assyrian officials would reach Yahweh, and that he’d listen to them. So, Hezekiah sent word to the prophet Isaiah. And Isaiah responded with word that Hezekiah shouldn’t be worried about the Assyrians.

And everything seemed good…until an Assyrian official returned with a letter from his king.

That message from the enemy king scoffed at the faith of Hezekiah. How many other fallen nations had trusted in their own gods, to no avail? The guy even began to list some of those fallen kingdoms in Isaiah 37:12-13.

At this, the faith of Hezekiah turned once again to doubt. And with letter in hand, Hezekiah went to the temple. He knelt down before the Lord his God. And spread out the letter in front of him.

Literally opening his doubts and fears up to the God he knelt before.

Hezekiah’s words are recorded in Isaiah 37:16-20. With doubts in his mind Hezekiah prayed words that spoke of faith beyond what he felt in the moment. Reminders of God’s goodness, his favor, his deeds. Words that called for God to work, because this foreign king had dared mock Yahweh.

With troubles literally about to be set all around him, and doubts creeping in his head, Hezekiah went and knelt before God. The king of Judah knew that even in the midst of the trials and problems of this world, that God was there, ready to comfort. And, in Hezekiah’s case, ready to deliver him from this particular situation.

But the guarantee isn’t that we’ll have all of our problems solved. No, that’s a “honeymoon phase” perspective. Instead, the guarantee is that our God is with us in every situation. And whatever the outcome, it is for his glory and our growth in relationship with him.

Even if we would rather have the deliverance and healing.

Many among us—me included—have doubts and fears that need to be laid out before our God. We need reminders that the problems don’t mean that God has abandoned us. He hasn’t left us to our own devices just because we have those doubts.

Instead, he’s there with us, calling us to grow ever closer to him.

So, let’s stop trying to get back to the “honeymoon phase” with God, and instead kneel before him in prayer with every problem, doubt, and fear. He’s ready to grow that relationship with us.