Ouch that feels good…

I have always had problems understanding why the Bible states that we should be happy when we endure trials and tribulations. It just seems like a paradox to me to state that we should be happy when we suffer through terrible periods of our life.

Last week I had to prepare a summary of my career for the state and national ‘Business Person of the Year’ competition. While writing it I recounted a period of trials and tribulations that our business endured of which I entitled “The Mother of all Trials and Tribulations”. Several employees managed to embezzle money, steal inventory and deliberately sabotage our company. I nearly had to declare bankruptcy and it took seven long years to recover from it and it was the most miserable period of my business life. It was not too good for my personal life either. Every day for several years, every phone call I received was some angry creditor wanting money I did not have.

It was, however one of the best things that ever happened to me as a businessman. We survived the ordeal without going bankrupt and the pain of those dark days is now distant. The “Lessons learned” from it however, have proven to be invaluable to my business career in moving forward and I still use them every day. I learned that controls and checks and balances need to be in place because no matter how much one might love their employees, not all are honest and being gullible can hurt you. In order to survive, I had to learn to budget every dollar heavily and to spend money wisely. I developed a saying, “Get by or justify”, that became our creed. Just like our own bodies, keeping a company “Lean and mean” keeps it healthy whereby being too fat makes it unhealthy. I learned that being bigger is not always better in a company, but being profitable is always’ good. I learned that having big cash reserves is very smart policy because one never knows when they might be needed. I learned many things and it developed my character in a way that nothing else probably could have, (not that I am stubborn or too hard-headed to listen to reason or anything).

Going back to the Bible teachings, trials and tribulations teach us patience and perseverance; both yield hope. Years after all of this happened our country was hit by 911. We did not sell anything for three months as the entire country was glued to the television. Our payroll was over one million dollars a month and that is serious money with nothing coming in. Our leadership was not just somber; many were on the verge of panicking. As bad as it was for our company, the serious problems seemed like a ‘cakewalk’ to me compared to my previous ordeal. The Lord who sees everything and knows the future had prepared me a decade beforehand to be strong and lead us out of that crisis which I did.

Never doubt the Bible just because you do not understand it at the time. The same holds true for whatever crisis you might be going through today. Maybe it will not become clear for a decade from now why you must endure this pain, but rest assured that God definitely has a worthy good purpose for it and as paradoxical as that might seem, it nonetheless is true and is for your own good.

I realize that similar to hitting your thumb with a hammer and realizing that it eventually’ will quit hurting does not seem to give much comfort as it is still throbbing with pain, and it HURTS when it happens. All I can tell you is to keep the prayer lines open, “Grin and bear it”, keep the faith and look forward to better times and not back.

James 1:2
My brethren, count it all joy
when you fall into various trials,
knowing that the testing of your
faith produces patience.