Character Building

Character Building

Have you encountered moments in your life when you want to walk a closer path with God, to spend more time with the Lord, to discern what his plans are for us? Then out of the blue, you receive disturbing news that one of your family members health is deteriorating, you face conflicting views with colleagues at your work place, and you feel that you are drifting away from the people you care for – maybe these are some of the distractions we face as we seek to walk a closer path with God. My good friend, a non-Christian told me these problems/worries are what we human beings make out to be, think of the bright side of things and live each day to the fullest. I was comforted with her advice that sometimes things don’t work out the way we want them to be, maybe it’s for our own good.

This is how I am feeling at this moment. Doing a juggling act of work, family, studies, and dealing with spiritual and personal issues has not been easy. Yet at this time, I truly want to stay focus on the Lord. Usually when things don’t work out the way, I will usually ask the Lord “Why God why are all these things happening to me?” Only recently I turn to Him and ask Him “Lord what is it that you want me to learn from these lessons?” Can I trust that Jesus will give me the courage and strength to see through life’s inevitable storm? I can only place my faith in HIM.

God uses his Word, People and Circumstances to mould us. All these three factors are indispensable for character development. God’s word provides the truth we need to grow as seen in the bible. God’s people provide the support we need to grow through fellowship and circumstances provide the environment we need to practice Christlikeness.

God uses problems to draw us closer to himself. In Psalm (34:18) “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, he rescue these who are crushed in spirit.” We draw closer to God when our heart is broken, when we feel abandoned, when we run out of options and when the pain is great, we turn to God alone. It is during this time do we truly submit ourselves to the Lord, seek his presence, guidance and learn to pray our most heartfelt and honest prayers to God.

Every problem is a character building opportunity and the more difficult it is, the greater the potential for building spiritual growth. It is what happens inside you that matters more than what happens externally in your life. To grow more like Christ, we have to go through the same experience Jesus went through. This includes stress, criticism, loneliness, temptation, rejections and many other problems.

As a result of the problems we face, some people become bitter, rather than better and never grow up. Yet there are others who grow to be more loving and stronger in character. We have to respond the way Jesus would. Always remember that God knows what is best for you and he has your interests at heart. It is vital that we stay focus on God’s plan, not on our pain and problem. Jesus endured the pain of the cross for our sins so that we may have eternal life. If we stay focus on the Lord, we will be at peace. Try to remember that our pain is temporary, but our reward will be eternal.

Give thanks in all circumstance for this is God’s will for you to grow spiritually. Be patient and persistent and we will slowly see a slow process in character building. Whenever we try to avoid or escape the difficulties in life, we short-circuit the process, delay our growth and we end up a worse kind of pain – the worthless type that accompanies denial and avoidance. When we see the eternal consequences of the development of our character, we will ask for more prayers to make us grow in Christ. There is a purpose behind every problem. Let’s all grow to be more like Christ.