Crushing

I remember it well. Chuck Swindoll was being honored at Catalyst for a lifetime ministry/leadership award. He then spoke to next generation leaders about all he had learned in ministry.

One line that has haunted me..."If you want to follow Jesus, you better leave room for the crushing."

And if we are honest, its the crushing...the refining...the pruning...the shaping...that derail many from being Christ-like. Pain? Suffering? Adversity? Crushing? I signed up for the dude who said his yoke was easy and his burden light...not the guy who said take up your cross daily and follow him!

Pain and suffering indeed cause many to keep only their toes in the shallowest end of the kiddie pool...but joy, peace, contentment...they are all found in the deep end of God's grace!

The way you get there? Being crushed.

Your dream may have to die a thousand deaths.

Your family may have to be broken.

Your kid may have to run away and squander their life away.

Your financial security may have to be bankrupted.

Your health may have to be compromised.

Your marriage may have to endure the ringer.

And any number of these events may derail you.

BUT, if you're willing to endure the crushing, the pain, the adversity...resurrection is on the other side! It may derail you, but it could also deepen you.

Some are shaken by hardship...others are shaped. Some crushed by adversity...others are crafted. Some will be broken...others will be built up.

I feel like with Chaia's story, we have struggled at times to keep it together. We've been underslept and overwhelmed. We are being crushed by this. And the daily demands of church planting and parenting this little lady some days seem daunting and out of reach.

But it is resurrection that lies on the other side of the crushing. We must never forget that dying is the prerequisite to resurrection.

So your dreams crushed...His dreams birthed.
Your family crushed...His people formed.
Your kid a prodigal...His love welcomes them home.
Your finances destroyed...His provision revealed.
Your health crushed...His grace is sufficient.
Your marriage on the rocks...His restoration made known.

This last year, we have felt crushed...Broken...Beat Up...Fearful...It has been adversity and trial over and over again.

And that crushing is leading to something beautiful. I've quoted Buechner on here before...but it is one of the truest statements I've ever come across.

RESURRECTION MEANS THE WORST THING IS NEVER THE LAST THING.

Take hope...and leave room for the crushing.