My grace is enough for you; for my power is shown perfect in your weakness.

2 Corinthians 12:9

Ten years ago I had the wonderful opportunity to have an endoscopy. For the uninitiated, that's a delightful procedure in which a person you hardly know sticks a long tube down your throat. The walls of the esophagus and stomach are scanned, with little bits taken here and there for later examination.

Thankfully I was under "conscious sedation", which means a lovely little drug allowed me to be awake enough to respond to the nice people in the funny looking outfits, all while deleting my memory of the entire episode. I remember asking the nurse what I should do in case the drug didn't work, hearing her laugh, and then suddenly finding myself in another room thirty minutes later as though I'd fallen through a time warp. I recall nothing of the procedure, although I heard I was quite entertaining.

At times we do things we'd rather not. An endoscopy is one. A Lower GI series, also lovingly known as a Barium enema (which I've also had), is another. And if you've never experienced a Lower GI, imagine backing up to a gasoline pump and telling the attendant to "fill her up". Those of you who have had this procedure (and are now experiencing humiliating flashbacks) know I speak the truth.

But the bottom line (I couldn't resist) is that such testing is sometimes necessary to determine if there is cancer or other bad stuff. Though we'd rather not have these humbling procedures, the end result (sorry) actually helps us.

Life is like that. We go through difficult periods filled with anxiety, sorrow, anger, grief...times we desperately want to avoid. But we can't. It's the nature of this world to create hardship, but what sets us apart is how we deal with it. Do we get angry, grieve, hurt, and shout, "This isn't fair"? Do we fall within ourselves and ask why has God abandoned us? Of course, we do.

Yet we still have a choice. We can continue being upset about how we've been wronged or life isn't the paradise we thought it would be. Or we can understand that the bad side of life occurs in a world the Bible clearly describes, God is still in control, and He has prepared a better place for us. We can lean on His promises that He's with us in the hard times, He will give us peace, and we do not need to be afraid.

Trials, tribulations, difficulties and hardships, by whatever name, description or cause, can destroy us or make us stronger. Our weaknesses -- self-reliance, pride, self-centeredness, doubt -- can grow within us like a cancer, taking away any meaningful life in this world. But God's love and mercy can work through our weaknesses to show His own strength and power, sufficient and capable of leading us to joy and peace He alone can give, even in our darkest days.

Sometimes testing is rammed down your throat. At times it sneaks up from behind. Circumstances may not be what you want, yet be what you need. Don't worry about first reactions. After you've rested and calmed down, take a long look at what's going on, admit you don't like it, then be willing to allow God to change you through it. And life will become more meaningful than you've ever known.

Also remember that such tests aren't just for us. They help others learn by seeing God move in our lives. Even those in funny looking outfits.