After reading 2 Corinthians about Paul's hardships and again in Acts 14 the hardships he shared with Barnabas, I believe I am beginning to see the role of hardships in our lives. I am working through a spiritual formation workbook and the key tenet of the workbook is that there are several "traditions" of our faith that form our spiritual foundation and God desires us to be balanced among them. For example, one of the traditions we should aspire to be adept at is the "holiness tradition" which of course is for us to be more pure of heart, mind, body and spirit - to be more like Christ. For me this implies a sense of hardship in that we are to deny ourselves perhaps earthly desires in a quest to build a stronger desire for heavenly desires and a desire for Him. So I see truth in Paul's statement:
"We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God..."
My Prayer: Lord, YOU are the most holy of holy and that You could be both human and God is amazing. That You died for me personally is amazing and I am in awe of how great and gracious you are. I throw myself at Your feet as I don't feel worthy for your love but I know I have it. Forgive me for my ongoing anger at work and help me focus on you, your love for me and help me be more like you.
