Thinking Like a Boss Through Fear, Disappointment, and UncertaintySample

Dialectics of Life

Day Five

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8; Romans 5:3-5; James 1:2-4 

When I was sixteen, Jesus gave me a verse that has guided me ever since. Laying in tears on my bed, I was searching through my bible concordance for a word that might bring me a little inkling of comfort. My boyfriend had just broken up with me and it felt like my life was over. I so desperately wanted to hear from God. I searched that concordance until I found a word (which many years later I can’t remember) which lead me to Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NIV):

There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

Little did I know back then how badly I would need this verse in the future. Life never got easier, but I became stronger. I learned what makes this journey of life beautiful is acknowledging that life doesn’t need to be happy all of the time, but that we can experience joy even in the midst of pain and uncertainty. 

Wait, you might be thinking—we can experience both joy and pain simultaneously? Yes: difficult seasons don’t equate to your life being doomed. 

There is always beauty to be found in the suffering. This concept was later cemented for me in graduate school while studying a treatment modality that relied on the concept of dialectics. In a nutshell, this concept states two opposing things are able to be true at the same time. We can experience joy in the midst of uncertainty - and as Christians, this is particularly true. 

Our joy cannot be shaken. 

Even in times of pain and suffering, we can experience deep rooted confidence in God’s goodness and his promise of life everlasting. Romans 5:3-5 states that times of suffering can actually produce endurance and hope if we actively choose to allow them to. I’ve become so accustomed to this mindset that in times of uncertainty I no longer ask myself, “Why is this happening to me, God?”, but rather “How is this working for me, Lord?” 

I no longer fear the moments of breakdown because I know a breakthrough is always on the way. 

Reflection:

1. Where can you find joy in this painful or uncertain season?


2. How is this situation working FOR you (rather than against you)? 


3. What is the lesson and the beauty that is being revealed to you through this painful experience?