So many are haunted by choices made that didn’t work out as planned or resulted in unanticipated suffering or struggles. We here at Show Hope have seen a lot of hardship and pain over the last couple years. Even as we have been assaulted in personal and professional ways, we have watched families who decided to step out in faith on the road of adoption then hit severe barricades or potholes. Some are frustratingly stuck in the waiting game, and others have come across hardship or disappointment and have seen their dreams of adoption come crumbling down.
In times of difficulty and struggle, a common question to ask is, “Where did I go wrong?” However, I was recently encouraged by the reminder that our call is not to success, but to follow Jesus. We are walking in the footsteps of one who was in many ways the greatest disappointment and failure to those around him as he was put to death in the prime of his life. Though the symbol of the cross could have been only a reminder of his failure, that symbol is proudly worn around the world as the symbol of hope and redemption.
Maybe the decision made to step out in faith wasn’t the wrong one simply because things aren’t working out the way we had hoped. I pray that these words that encouraged me will also encourage you:
It is commonly thought that if we begin a project for the Lord, the pieces will fall into place. It doesn’t work out that way… Disasters befall projects of the good spirit, as well as those of the bad. Success has never been a sign of God’s will. As Mother Teresa of Calcutta has observed, “God calls us to fidelity and not to success.” It seems to me that a sure sign that a certain project is the work of God is if we have the grace to struggle on without bitterness in the face of difficulties and frustrations.1
My prayer today is: Lord, regardless of our circumstances or the situations we are in, regardless of where we find ourselves as a result of decisions we made in obedience, wherever we are, may we each have the courage to join our voices with Job and say, “Blessed be Your name.” May we not look to success or failure as evidence of our obedience or of Your will. Give us the wisdom You promised in James so that we may know that even in the midst of what seems like failure, we are still walking in Your will. May we simply, always, and everywhere look to You.
1(Benedict J. Groeschel, The Psychology of Spiritual Development)
