Have you had an “out of the frying pan and into the fire” experience? This line, a very old proverb that titles the sixth chapter of The Hobbit, perfectly describes how Gandalf, the dwarves and one little hobbit flee out of the grasp of horrid mountain goblins only to find themselves now running from wolves and the orcs that have been pursuing them for days.
When I first heard that infamous phrase, I resonated with it, having experienced such emotional crises in my life. When we walk through multiple challenging issues like this, it can leave us feeling we are the only ones struggling this way. And feeling this way can lead us to isolate and withdraw. But let me be the first one to share with you, if you have not heard already, we all experience life in such a way. We all feel at times how the overwhelm and stresses can be unending.
This is not meant to minimize or invalidate what you are going through, but to let you know that there is nothing wrong with you because you are walking through these trials. You are not being severely punished nor condemned. You are not terribly flawed or unloved.
We love a good story where the good guy comes through in the end. We watch him or her come up against enemy after enemy and we hold our breath as it appears the hero has lost. Yet, in the end they make it through victoriously and come away changed.
We never think the main character deserved what they were challenged with. In fact, we peg them as the hero because of what they must walk through. We know they have what is called a character arc, where we see them grow and discover who they truly are throughout their story. And we witness their ultimate victory because of the challenges they have already met with along the way. And it was these challenges that brought them the change and growth needed to be the overcomer we knew they would become.
However, when we walk through the fire in our own lives, we are tempted to question everything and forget who we are. We succumb to the enemies lies and find ourselves in despair. Yet, God is watching our story unfold. He sees our character arc, in fact, He allows these trials to see our growth and learned dependency on Him. God sees in us what we have yet to see and it is through these trials, multiple trials even, that will bring what He sees into fruition.