A few years ago, my family bought some land in the Texas Hill Country with plans to build there. What I didn’t realize then was how challenging it would be—the entire top of the hill was solid rock. We had to use a rock saw to grind through the stone to install plumbing and electrical systems. Not only was there rock on the surface, but it was coming up from underground, too. I quickly realized I had an overwhelming amount of rock to deal with, far too much to simply haul away.
As I was figuring out what to do with all these stones, I was reminded of Ecclesiastes 3:5, where King Solomon writes, "There’s a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain." Sometimes, we need to remove things from our lives. But more often than not, there are things we simply can’t remove—permanent fixtures like people, places, or situations. We might think, If I could just get rid of this, I could finally achieve my goals. But often, what we really need to do is learn to integrate those things.
So, instead of discarding the rocks, I began using them to build walls and line the landscape. To my surprise, it turned out beautifully. I created something useful and meaningful by working with what was naturally there. This experience taught me a powerful lesson: there will always be challenges we can’t change, but when we steward what God has given us and use it to the best of our ability, amazing things can happen.
God has shown me time and again that when we embrace what we’ve been given—even if it’s not what we wanted—He can work through it in extraordinary ways. By integrating challenges rather than removing them, God can do exceedingly, abundantly more than we could ever ask or imagine through His power at work within us.
Part 1: How God’s Presence Guides Us through Difficult Endings and New Beginnings
Part 2: The Secret to Surviving Life's Toughest Seasons
Part 3: Is it Really Okay to Have Sad Days?
Part 4: How Ecclesiastes 3:5 Can Change How You Face Challenges
Photo Credit: SWN Design
He speaks at churches, conferences, and corporate events around the country and is the author of seven books, including Vision Map (Moody Press), Connecting the Dots, and Keep It Light. (Salem/Regnery) He and his wife Emily and daughter Elise live in Texas.
Find out more at: http://joelmalm.com
