When the unfavorable may be the best for us…
There are times when unpleasant things or situations arise in our lives that naturally compel us to adapt. Once they become established in our routine and our life - and when there is no way to avoid them - the only thing to do is to learn to live with them as we move on.
Sometimes when these situations come up they remove the original agony of previous challenges. Usually, instead of seeking to understand the meaning and purpose of that new situation in our lives, we often decide to reject it, because before that life was so good! Wasn't it like that with the Israelites in the desert, when they began missing Egypt? Ironic, isn't it!
The misfits among the people had a craving and soon they had the People of Israel whining, “Why can’t we have meat? We ate fish in Egypt—and got it free!—to say nothing of the cucumbers and melons, the leeks and onions and garlic. But nothing tastes good out here; all we get is manna, manna, manna.”
—Numbers 11:4-6
In dismissing reality, we spend our lives trying to eliminate those situations or things (or even people) from our lives, from our midst, only to discover one thing: that life will not be the same after we cast it out!
Look at those birds! They didn't want to deal with the embarrassment of an uncomfortable situation, which could bring newness to their life. Instead, t due to their decision of casting the big bird out, they ended up in a worse situation than they were in at the beginning! They ended up bring greater consequences and pain to their own exitence.
So, be still! When the desire to give up and take a shortcut tempt you, just trust God and His goodness for you; dare to walk through suffering and challenges with Him, in His presence.
This reminds me of the parable of the wheat and the chaff.
Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew.
“The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’
“An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed.
“Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked.
“No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’”
—Matthew 13:24-46
Conclusion
The practice of self-righteousness only produces death. But trust in God's sovereignty and practicing His righteousness produces much fruit and life.