Nothing is wasted

"Nothing is wasted; you work all things for good.... You are loving, you are wise, there is nothing in my life you cannot revive."

That line from an Elevation Worship song, sung during worship at BCM at UGA a few weeks ago, has stuck with me, twirling around inside my head and heart. I have been especially reminded of these words when a student shares with me a struggle, a crisis, or a seeming never ending hurt that is wrecking his or her life because, very often, I too have been there. I know I can never completely understand another's experience or the resulting pain and anguish someone might feel. But from the various experiences of my 50 years of life I have faced many moments of crisis - some emerging from my own stupid choices, some from accidents, but some from just being alive. From those tumultuous experiences and through lots of prayer I have begun to see God working in, through, and because of much of my pain and many of my struggles.

I'm not going to use this blog to air all of the struggles from life. That would be too much like whining and would focus more on me than on the point of this post. However, I want to challenge you to be open to how God may use your past to help others now.

It's natural for us to want to hide our pain and our embarrassing experiences to put forth our best face, our best image, to the world. However, to do so as Christians we become hypocrites. As followers of Jesus we need to be willing to show our weaknesses, for as the Apostle Paul learned, "when I am weak I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:10). I know, it sounds like backwards logic; How can weakness be strength? When I choose to admit my weakness I allow God's strength to shine in my life. Because of God's immeasurable and inexhaustible grace given through the love of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, my transparency and admission that I need help, that I can't do it on my own, that I rely on the God of the universe for help, meaning, purpose, and guidance beyond what I have or what I can see is in fact deep wisdom, not weakness or stupidity.

Hiding behind an attitude of self-sufficiency, independence, and personal strength denies our dependence on God and our professed reliance on God's grace. We need to learn transparency. It's not easy to do. It goes against contemporary American culture. Yet for those who claim to follow Jesus, humility is the primary trait we need to learn; pride is the chief trait we need to purge or at least keep under control!

God constantly surprises me with the ways He is able to use my transparency with students when I admit my struggles, hurts, and even past failures. What are your experiences?