Growing Through Difference
Devotional week 35
“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation… I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:12-13
“I know what it is to feel out of place,” says Michael, a Christian businessman who recently moved to another country to open a company. “I have walked into meetings where my accent marked me immediately as a foreigner. I have seen polite smiles fade when my way of doing things didn’t match the local culture. Some days I wonder if I will ever belong here.”
Paul, who wrote these verses from Philippians, knew something of this reality. He spent his life traveling across cultures, meeting different people, and facing both welcome and rejection. When he wrote to the Philippians, he was not in comfort but in prison. However he spoke of a secret steadiness which is a strength not born of himself but learned over time with God’s help.
Cross-cultural experiences can feel much the same. Entering a new culture often means leaving behind what is familiar and learning to live in a world where language, customs, and even unspoken rules are different. At first, it can be disorienting and lonely. You may miss home, struggle to fit in, or feel like an outsider. Yet these very moments of difference are often the ground where God shapes us most deeply.
Think of Daniel in Babylon. As a young exile, he was surrounded by foreign traditions, new expectations, and pressures to conform. Yet instead of letting the difference crush him, he grew through it. Rooted in his devotion to God, Daniel’s faith deepened, and he became a man of influence and wisdom in a culture not his own.
In the same way, God uses cross-cultural challenges to teach us reliance on Him. Difference reveals our weakness, but it also magnifies Christ’s strength in us. As Paul reminds us, “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
It is often in those uncomfortable places—where cultures collide and we feel out of step—that Christ’s unchanging truth shines most clearly. So whether you are adjusting to a new workplace, navigating an unfamiliar community, or moving across cultures, see it not as a setback but as an opportunity.
Our discomfort may unsettle us, but it is also the very place where God does His deep work, shaping us to reflect Christ more fully.
Challenge
Where in your life right now are you facing difference or discomfort?
How might God be using this experience to shape your faith?
Prayer
Lord, thank You that You remain unchanging even when everything around me feels unfamiliar. Help me embrace difference as a place where You are at work, and teach me to rely on Your strength in every situation. Amen.