Finding Joy and Growth Amidst Life's Challenges

Two years ago, I faced a challenge I wasn't sure how to manage, which caused me continuous pain. As I kept bringing this struggle to Jesus, I was guided to work through it by journaling. I named this prayerful journal "growth from a struggle." Eventually, I stopped journaling about the struggle because it was no longer necessary to process it. In the months that followed, I unexpectedly received an answer to my prayerful journaling.

As I clung to the rope, which served as my anchor of hope during my struggles, I realized I had outgrown the struggle. In this particular issue, whenever I found myself in the middle of a struggle, I would begin to laugh. An unexpected gift surfaced and expressed itself—a gift of newfound joy. The sadness of the struggle suddenly transformed into new joy. 

Today, I invite you to begin a journey of prayerful journaling titled “My Growth from a Struggle.” You can start this new journey by reflecting on the verse from Mark 2:22: “No one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”

Jesus employs this image to address a question that reveals a hurt heart. Rather than providing a direct answer, Jesus skillfully imparts a series of principles through this straightforward yet profound image, helping listeners overcome the sadness of an offense.

If you've also been approaching Jesus, questioning why certain struggles persist, it's possible you're caught in a maze of various offenses, unable to identify the core issue and find an exit strategy. 

Rather than telling you an insightful story about why "new wine" (a symbol of newfound joy) cannot be poured into old, inflexible wineskins (representing sad and offended hearts), I invite you to explore this concept yourself as you prepare to grow from your current challenges. 

If you choose to start a prayerful journaling journey, growth will happen during the process, providing an opportunity to receive unexpected answers to prayers amidst temporarily unchanging difficulties.

While you may not have control over others or challenging situations, you can still find joy and personal growth amid them. 

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” - Philippians 4:4