I’ve been in a regular communication with a Christ-follower, who is struggling to keep his business afloat in one of the malls in Manila.
Photo Source: http://craigrobertson.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/pain1.jpg
He said he has been in constant suspense everyday since the time he opened his food business this year. Suspense because he never knew what challenge will come along financially when he wakes up each morning.
He said the food business has been his dream considering that he had extensive experience working as manager in big-name food shops like KFC and Kenny Rogers Roasters.
But the way things have gone for the past four months isn’t turning out as he expected–low turnout of customers, conflict with two of his crews/cook, escalating electrical bills while having to deal with what he said, as seemingly abusive mall management.
And while he faces all these challenges day in and day out, what I admire from this man was his faith.
Yes, his food business may be at the birth pains, but each time we talk, he’d share to me what God reveals to him through the Bible and how, he is determined to apply His word no matter what it takes.
What’s more, he actively shares his faith to his business partner who works in the Middle East. Though his partner isn’t a Christ-follower yet, he continues to tell his business partner that these business birth pains are part of their character molding–believing that God is preparing them for something big in the future.
Like this friend of mine, we all have our own pains in life.
The Apostle Paul says in Romans 5:3-5–3Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
God doesn’t intend to use pain as a way of punishing us, nor does He want us to just suffer for no reasons.
Instead, the Apostle Paul was saying that the pain and sufferings in life are part of building within us the perseverance, the character and eventually, hope. We all have a choice to make each time pain comes along–a choice to complain and give up or a choice to focus our eyes on God.
I hope we all choose the latter because pain keeps us from depending on ourselves. Instead, we depend more on God.