'Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Philippians 3:12

 There are some amazing opportunities waiting for you this year! You may see glimpses of them on the horizon or they may just be vague shadows in the back of your imagination, but they are there. New challenges. New relationships. Perhaps a new job. Whatever this year holds for you, it brings opportunity. Above all the opportunity this year offers you and me is the opportunity to grow.

You and I are going to face the unexpected this year. We may welcome some of those unexpected challenges. We may be tempted to run from others. What if you positioned yourself to accept every challenge as a gift? What if you received each challenge as a stepping stone toward fulfilling your divine potential? What perspective would you need to take so that you could meet every twist and turn with peace and strength?

It’s taken a long time and I don’t do it perfectly by any stretch of the imagination, but I am working on these perspectives. Maybe they’ll help you, too.

 Every challenge is an opportunity to become the person I am meant to be. I can say that now looking back after six decades. When I faced some of the obstacles I encountered in the past, I most definitely did not see or receive them as opportunities. But now I see how each of those obstacles strengthened and shaped me. Learning how to overcome, but most often just learning how to persevere, was the tool God used to chisel off the unnecessary habits and hang-ups and cause me to focus on the important and eternal. I would not be the person I am if I had not met those challenges and made it to the other side.

My friend, when your unexpected challenges appear they may seem insurmountable. Everything in you will want to scream and turn tail but don’t. Turn toward the challenge and determine to persevere, if not triumph. With every step through the fog and mud, you will move toward the vision of yourself that you feel is unattainable. You will be molded more into the model you. The challenge is a gift. Receive it.

 How I navigate difficulty can strengthen my weaknesses. You and I will tend to protect our weaknesses. It is a fact. Perhaps you recognize it. Perhaps you don’t. If your ankle hurts, you put your weight on the other foot. It happens naturally in our physical bodies, and it happens naturally with our character weaknesses as well. It’s a survival instinct that God put into us. Protecting our weaknesses is meant to help us heal. But there comes a point where it is no longer healthy to avoid weight on that ankle. Healing requires using it again, even though there might be some discomfort. That’s why a friend recovering from knee surgery nicknamed her physical therapist her “physical terrorist.” The therapist forced her to stop protecting the knee that no longer needed protecting and work through the discomfort toward complete healing.

God allows some of our challenges as part of our journey toward complete healing. Our tendency will be to protect our weaknesses longer than is healthy. He allows, sometimes even designs, challenges that force us to work through the discomfort so that our weaknesses are strengthened.

I believe that God designed you and me with weaknesses so we must rely on Him. It is that reliance that allows our weaknesses to be strengthened. There may be some weaknesses that we totally overcome in this life. Praise God! There are others that God will allow us to walk with for our entire lives so that we continue to rely on Him. They will constantly challenge us and strengthen us, but never go away completely.

I’m willing to receive that as a gift to keep me close to God. What about you?

 Fulfillment comes from overcoming what is difficult.   Every goal requires effort to achieve it. Even the goal of Christ-like character. Becoming who we are meant to be is to become the best reflection of Christ that we can be in this life. That goal requires the refining of our character, right? I don’t naturally reflect the character of Christ and neither do you. The reason we exist is to demonstrate His glory to the world so that all will want to know Him.

As I have made it to the other side of my challenges — sometimes crawling on my hands and knees – I have found it overwhelmingly necessary to celebrate. Overcoming the difficult inspires praise. Overcoming the difficult helps us to achieve what is most important. It helps us to be transformed into the image of Christ. That is the kind of goal that brings the deepest satisfaction.

Dear Friend, who do you want to become? What weaknesses need to be strengthened in you? How might you be changed if you accepted your unexpected challenges as a gift toward growth?

 Key Question: Do you welcome every challenge as a gift toward growth?

A Scripture to Consider: 'Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Philippians 3:12

A YES Challenge: Take some time to prayerfully prepare for unexpected challenges. How do you want to grow? What weakness do you want to strengthen?  How might receiving unexpected challenges as a gift help to grow and strengthen Christ-like character in you?

Prayer: Lord, I am excited about the possibility that the year ahead holds. But I wonder if I am up to the unexpected challenges. Help me to prepare myself to face those challenges from the perspective of growth. I want to become the person You designed me to be. Help me to welcome each new challenge as a gift and an opportunity to strengthen what may be weak in me. I can do all things through Your strength in me. Amen.