Triumph is Born of Struggle – An Important Truth, as Seen in a Movie Outtake

Some years ago, the movie Bruce Almighty was near the top of the box office charts. Unfortunately, one of my favorite scenes was cut from the released version of the movie. I was only able to see it in the “deleted scenes and outtakes” section of the DVD version. Why they deleted the scene is unfathomable to me, since I think it really decodes the whole movie.

The movie features a prideful man (Bruce) who has complaints about how God runs the universe. “God” shows up and turns the tables on Bruce, “permitting” him to be “God” for a day. As you might expect, Bruce makes a real mess of the whole thing. He abuses his power and plays with a lot of people.

Even worse, he just gets tired of considering requests (prayers) and says “Yes” to every one. Before you know it, the whole world is so messed up that only the real God could ever sort things out.

In one deleted scene, which you will see in the video below, “God” explains to Bruce that simply relieving people’s burdens means that they are not able to reach their full potential and in fact may even self-destruct. “God” shows Bruce how interference and simply removing struggles actually destroyed the lives of several people. Here are the key points of “God’s” discourse:

1. Triumph is born of struggle.
2. Faith is the alchemist (i.e., it produces gold from less valuable things).
3. If you want to paint [beautiful] pictures, you have to use some dark colors.

Great wisdom here! Apparently too great for Hollywood, since the scene ended up on the cutting room floor. Nevertheless, it was a powerful outtake.

We might always wish and pray that God would “answer our prayers” by taking away our struggles. But God knows that sometimes the best answer is “No,” for out of our struggles, our strengths emerge and our faith is made stronger and more genuine.

I have cued this clip to the critical scene, in which “God” teaches Bruce these truths. If you watch the whole clip, you might get more context. Remember, because it is an outtake reel, it jumps around and not all the scenes are filled in or finished. But you’ll get the point.

Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.

For many, a contemporary Christian song communicates a similar principle and comfort. It is Laura Story's "Blessings":

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You're near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we have faith to believe

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You're near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It's not our home

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You're near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the achings of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise

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