To grow in faith, we trust Jesus even when we don’t understand. Read Proverbs 3:5-6. I was listening to an interview with Reverend Tony Evans, a black evangelical pastor. He was talking about painful circumstances and sinful pasts and what to do with them. He said we can do one of two things - “bury it or plant it".  I’ve been thinking about those words for a couple of months now. If we bury the difficulty, all we have done is covered them up with dirt. It still remains in its original form. The world may not see it, but we know it is still there. If we plant our difficulty, we are expecting something to grow. Our pain can be transformed, and we can learn and grow. When we put our faith in God and we plant our pain, God will transform our pain into something better. With God’s help, we will overcome. When we look back on the spot where we bury our pain, we only see the earth that has been disturbed, but not transformed. When we look back on the spot where we plant our pain, we see new life and growth. Rarely do we understand why we have to experience pain in our lives. The wisdom of Proverbs tells us to trust God when we don’t understand. Jesus told his disciples that we use our faith to plant a seed so that our faith will grow (John 2:24). What pain are you ready to plant in the soil of God’s love so that your faith will grow and you will be transformed?

Lord Jesus, we put our faith in you. Help us to overcome our lack of understanding by trusting in you when we face pain and difficulty. We give our pain to you today, so that it may be planted in the soil of your love. Transform our pain and allow something promising to grow. Amen.