Find the spiritual lesson in the challenge you face

Life is full of lessons.

There are school lessons, music lessons, ethic lessons, financial lessons, relationship lessons, and hundreds more that could be listed. Some lessons are easy to learn and others not so easy.

But there is one type of lesson that brings great benefit into our lives and is always worth learning. It’s the spiritual lessons life has to offer that make us a better person.

For instance, if embroiled in conflict, perhaps it’s an opportunity to learn more patience, understanding and forgiveness to bring resolution. If feeling depressed, maybe it’s a signal for more gratitude. If angry, maybe there’s a need for more love. Whatever trial we face, there is likely a spiritual lesson to learn that will help us master that challenge and find improvement.

I’ve even found physical healing from looking for a spiritual lesson behind pain and suffering.

It was a couple of years ago, when I developed a severe pain in my shoulder over several weeks. I had done nothing to injure myself, however, my tennis coach had been teaching me a new serve which I found difficult to master. I tried for weeks to follow his instructions but saw no way I was going to learn this new technique.

The pain worsened to the point that I had to quit playing. I was told to take painkiller drugs and get my shoulder massaged, but I didn’t want to rely upon superficial and temporal remedies. I wanted a genuine healing from the inside out.

As I prayed for spiritual healing, I asked God, “What am I’m supposed to learn from this experience?” And the answer came, “The problem is not in your shoulder. It’s in your thinking.”

As I pondered this message, I realized that I was being crippled by a crisis of confidence. I didn’t think I was athletic enough to learn that serve. I kept trying but failing. As I prayed for relief, I began to see that the growing pain and suffering in my body mirrored the increased agony and hopelessness I felt in my thought, and to be healed, I needed to conquer my utter despair.

Discerning the spiritual need, I prayed for confidence.

The words of Paul spoke to me, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13, NKJV). Christ is the power and presence of God at work in our lives, giving us the strength, ability, and, yes, confidence, to excel in every right activity. It was more right for me to master that serve than to give into defeat and feel helpless. With Christ’s help, I could follow through, I decided.

My confidence returned, and my shoulder healed quickly. I was back on the courts practicing, and this time there was no pain or constriction when practicing that new serve. I was healed. I had learned my spiritual lesson, and I not only became a better server, I became a better person.

There is a spiritual lesson behind every challenge we face.

Whether it’s to stay confident, love more, exercise better judgment, be more compassionate, forgiving, wiser, kinder, grateful or less selfish, as we learn the lesson well we are blessed by the increased spiritual mindedness we gain from the occasion and the spiritual qualities we learn to express better.

Spiritual lessons are the most important lessons of all.

This story was originally published September 27, 2018 at 5:09 PM.