The Ulti m ate Test:
Overwhelming Hardship
By Monica A.
Imagine a world without questions.
What if we were only able to give commands,
statements, or answers? Curiosity would cease
to exist. A world without questions would be
horrible. Questions are important because
they help us discover the right answers. They
act as a springboard to dive deeper into a
topic or into a text of Scripture. Questions that
do not have a right answer but rather ensue a
prolonged discussion are also important to
ask because they give us that chance to learn
from others and respectfully defend our
opinions. As Christians, it is essential that we
learn these skills.
For this issue, our question is: ?Does
hardship make a person stronger? If so, under
what conditions and at what point is it too
much hardship? If not, what makes a person
stronger?? To explore this question, here are
some opinions from AOA teachers Mrs. Amy
Carter, Mr. Greg Burns, and Mrs. Sarah
McLean?
Mrs. Carter
"Yes, big time. I've seen this in my own
personal experience as well as the experience
of close friends and family. Grief, anxiety,
disappointment, loneliness, fear?everyone
goes through these kinds of seasons, some
lasting longer than others. They teach us what
we are capable of enduring and what types of
supports we need during these times. This
makes us better equipped to face the next
trial.
"Too much hardship? I don't know, but I
know I've felt like I was there; that I couldn't
do another day or hour of feeling like this, but
here I am, on the other side. It is hard to
quantify human suffering, given the
uniqueness of each experience."
Mr. Burns
"I definitely believe that hardship is
good. Hardship definitely strengthens us, and
I think God uses hardship in our lives to make
us more like Christ. Even when your hardship
seems overwhelming, if you go to the Lord
and seek Him in it, I honestly believe that you
will be able to handle whatever the test is. I
would have to say that?theoretically?it would
be too much hardship if it threatened our life
or our family?s life or something like that, but
even when things are very serious we need to
go to the Lord about it because He promises
us that He won?t give us anything more than
we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13). That?s a real
principle.
"You must seek the Lord regarding the
things that come into your life. He allows
them to come into your life for a reason. The
reason may be one that you don?t understand;
nowhere in the Scripture does it say that we
will understand everything. Sometimes, you
might understand it now, and sometimes you
might only understand it sometime in the
future. Other times, we may not understand it
in this life at all. Still, you have to trust that He
is in control of the hardship that you are going
through. If it feels overwhelming, I would
certainly go to the Lord and talk to Him about
it.