Lessons Learned on the Journey

I hopped in a taxi last week to discover that my cab driver was from Kosovo. Knowing the turmoil of that region I said, “Isn’t it sad that there is so much difficulty and suffering in the world?” The cabbie gently rebuked me with these words. “If there weren’t any times of difficulty or suffering how would I know or appreciate when the good times come.” These were words of wisdom from a cabbie; I gave him a good tip!!

He found good in adversity. Others have made the same observation.

	A smooth sea never made a successful sailor. (Herman Melville)
	Adversity is the midwife of genius. (Napoleon)
	The greater the difficulty, the greater the glory. (Cicero)

Not only can we find good, we can find God in the midst of hardship. Psalm 107 contains the songs of the children of Israel - lessons they learned through adversity. They could see that:

	God redeems His people (107:1-3)
	God provides for His people (v. 4-9)
	God delivers His people (v. 10-16)
	God heals His people (v. 17-22)
	God gave peace to His people (v. 23-32)
	God's favor rested on His people (v. 33-43)

The challenges and pain of our troubles must never be minimized. However, when God allows difficulty in my life, I must not waste the opportunity to see Him. Many of us are in a difficult place. Can we together look for God this week?