Daily Fenelon > Difficult Circumstance
Difficult Circumstance
God doesn't want to discourage you or to spoil you. Embrace the difficult circumstances you find yourself in—even when you feel they will overwhelm you. Allow God to mold you through the events He allows to enter your life. This will make you flexible toward the will of God. The events of life are like a furnace for the heart. All your impurities are melted and your old ways are lost.
As for the humiliation you feel when you see your faults—simply see how sensitive your self-love is. The pain you feel at your own imperfection is worse than the faults themselves. Your problem really is that you become so irritated by seeing your faults. Learn to live with yourself as you really are without being so upset. If you do this, you will soon have peace.
Patiently endure the ups and downs of everyday life. Behind every annoying circumstance, leam to see God governing all things. See that He trains you through troubling situations as well as through pleasant ones. The intrusions that God sends you will no doubt upset your plans and oppose all that you want. But they will also chase you toward God. Sit still before Him and yield your will to Him. Your unbending will shall begin
to learn flexibility.
Everything that comes from God's hand produces good fruit. Sometimes the annoyances that make you long for solitude are betterforproducing humility than the most complete solitude could be. Use the circumstances of each moment to the fullest. Sometimes an exciting book, or an inspiring devotional time, or a deep conversation about spiritual matters will make you feel extremely satisfied with yourself. You will believe that you are farther along than you really are. Talking about the cross is not at all the same as experiencing it. So remember this: Do not seek annoying circumstances, but when they come bear them in peace. It is easy to delude yourself! Do not seek God as if He were far off in an ivory castle. He is found in the middle of the events of your everyday life. Look past the obstacles and find Him.
