When Life Gives You Manure

“Now that I have this pile of manure, whose garden can I fertilize?”

Those were the words my pastor said to us during our Wednesday Bible Study. We’ve been talking about discipleship and what it truly means to be a follower of Christ.

It’s a conversation rooted in the heavy, beautiful weight of the Word—scriptures like Matthew 28:20, where Jesus promises, “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

We also looked at the cost of following Him in Luke 14:27: “And whoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”

The bottom line is this: being a disciple requires being selfless. It is the total surrender of our lives and our wills to God, allowing Him to do as He pleases. It’s not about convenience; it’s about commitment. It’s easy to follow when the path is paved, but what happens when the path is covered in waste?

The Beauty of the Thorn

What does this have to do with manure?

During the study, we watched a video of Nick Vujicic, a man born without arms or legs. As I watched him, the scripture that kept ringing out was 2 Corinthians 12:9:

“And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

It’s a verse we hear often, but Nick lives it. He talked about how he actually keeps a pair of shoes in his closet just in case God decides to give him his limbs. That is faith. But he said if not, then to God be the glory.

That’s a level of surrender that stings.

You finally realize that it’s not about what we want, but what God wants.

We didn’t end there, though. We watched another video where he was devastatingly honest about the actual cost of his reality. He admitted that he grieves every single day for what he cannot do. He shared a story about his son playing ball with his brother; when the brother didn’t want to play anymore, Nick grieved deeply because he couldn't just step in and play with his own son. Instead, he had to ask his wife to take his place. Watching that, you realize this is his "every day."

The "manure" in our lives doesn't just magically disappear because we decide to have a good attitude. Christ never promised that this walk would be easy, but He did promise that our endurance is not in vain.

Scripture reminds us in James 1:12, "Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him." The pain of our limitations is heavy and real, but the duality of the Christian walk is that a brilliant reward awaits those who endure.

But yet, he lives…and he says that God’s grace is sufficient.

The Revelation

After the study, I had a deeper revelation. It means we could go through the absolute worst, and God might not remove the thorn, but He gives us the strength to endure it.

He doesn't always take us out of the fire; sometimes He just walks in it with us. He may not change the circumstance, but He changes us through the circumstance.

You know what’s even more amazing? Nick said he was glad God didn’t give him his limbs in his 20s.

Why?

Because later on down the road, he would meet a small boy who didn’t have limbs, just like him. In that moment, he was able to inspire him in a way no one else could. It doesn’t mean his suffering wasn’t yet there, but through the suffering, he was able to see the blessing and be a blessing.

His "disability" became his "ministry."

Suffering never feels good in the moment. Whether it was Joseph in the pit or Job on the ash heap, their lives were a showcase of God’s power and miracles. Maybe people counted them out. Maybe they looked at them and asked, "What life do they have? What is it worth?" But their lives are a testimony saying that this isn't the end.

If we focus on the smell and the imagery of the manure, of course, we want to run. But we forget the benefits of manure: it grows and nourishes the ground. It is the very thing that makes the harvest possible.

So sure, I have this pile of manure in front of me... but instead of focusing on me, who can I help? Who can I minister to? How can I glorify God even in my suffering?

The Struggle of the Finite Mind

It’s a tough topic. It is one that I have shied away from, trust me!

I’m learning this myself. And if you don’t have the mind of Christ, you won’t get it. Without Him, you’ll see God as sadistic or as a tyrant who lives to inflict pain on His children.

One of the biggest questions we face is: How can an absolutely good God allow this?

And you know what, it is natural to question. When we go through hard things, the first thing we cry out is, "Why did this have to happen?" I understand that ache. Many people look at the story of Job and think God is selfish or playing games with a man's life. But that's thinking with a natural, human mind. We are trying to judge an infinite God with a finite perspective.

My pastor often says what we should be asking is: How can a good God see us and NOT afflict us? Surely, we are deserving of it. We ask the "why" because we see the manure and don’t see the fertilizer. We see the war, the violence, and maybe even our own personal Hell, and, like Job’s wife, we want to say, "Curse God and die!" (Job 2:9).

But we can stretch our faith to understand that God is both good and sovereign. In His love, He gives us a choice, and sin is the result of those choices.

Why doesn’t God just stop it? To be honest, I don’t know, and that’s exactly where trust comes in. We often ask that question as if our finite minds could possibly know better than the Creator, but His ways and thoughts are infinitely higher than ours (Isaiah 55:9). The truth we rarely consider is that if God were to completely eradicate all evil from the world this very second, none of us would be here to see the aftermath; our own fallen hearts would disqualify us.

We will never fully comprehend the "why" behind our suffering with our limited logic, but we can intimately know the "Who." When we are born again, our peace doesn't come from having all the answers, but from a promise.

What’s that promise?

That these tribulations last but for a moment, and God is coming one day to make all things right.

Becoming the Vessel

Joseph didn’t know why he was sold into slavery, but that "manure" eventually saved his family and generations to come. As he later told his brothers in Genesis 50:20, "You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good." When we are in Christ, we are given the grace to look at the mess of our lives and still choose to focus on God. What you are enduring right now might be the exact testimony someone else needs to hear to survive their own mess.

I don’t have all the answers to why pain exists, but I have the Word, and His grace is sufficient. When we look at a broken world and ask why God doesn't just stop the suffering, we have to look at our own role as His vessels. Think of the feeding of the five thousand: when the disciples told Jesus that the crowd was hungry, He didn't just snap His fingers and make food appear from thin air. Instead, He looked at them and said, "You give them something to eat" (Matthew 14:16).

Right now, there are believers all over the world acting on that very command. Through prayer, movement, and organization, they are doing so much more than just asking, "How could God allow this?" They are actively choosing to be His hands and feet.

The uncomfortable truth is that evil exists because of sin, and sin will be here until the coming of the Lord. It is devastating to witness the destruction, wickedness, and perversion in our culture, but God still reigns. Light will always drive out darkness.

Manure or not, the ultimate question we must ask ourselves is:

How can I be the light? Because what good is fertilizer if there is no sun shining down to make things grow?