Right now I have a high number of painful red spots on my face. I am highly susceptible to skin cancer and have many precancerous spots on my face and two confirmed cancer growths on my arm. The doctor recommended a chemotherapy cream for my face. It is strong stuff. My face feels like a bad sunburn and is painful when touched. But the goal of the cream is to remove the precancer before it becomes cancer and even more drastic counter measures are required, like cutting out the cancerous growths on my arm. So while it is painful now, hopefully it will make my skin healthy.
James 1:2-4 says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
Good character is built on the crucible of struggles. These struggles can, indeed, wear us down and contribute to hopelessness. But they also can make us stronger. Just like the athlete who must endure many hard workouts to perform their best, we need to persevere through painful events to become steadfast in our faith. But we can’t do this on our own. We must depend upon and trust the strength and goodness of our Savior Jesus Christ. It is by His power that we can endure and grow. Its our darkest times that produce our shiniest moments by the light of Jesus.
Reluctant Retiree 