Our first priority in times of adversity is to honor and glorify God by trusting Him. We tend to make our first priority the gaining of relief from our feelings of heartache or disappointment or frustration. This is a natural desire, and God has promised to give us grace sufficient for our trials and peace for our anxieties (2 Corinthians 12:9, Philippians 4:6-7). But just as Gods will is to take precedence over our will (Jesus Himself said, Yet not as I will, but as you will Matthew 26:39), so Gods honor is to take precedence over our feelings. We honor God by choosing to trust Him when we dont understand what He is doing or why He has allowed some adverse circumstance to occur. As we seek Gods glory, we may be sure that He has purposed our good and that He will not be frustrated in fulfilling that purpose. ... Above all, we need to be very sensitive about instructing someone else in the sovereignty of God and encouraging that person to trust God when he or she is in the midst of adversity or pain. It is much easier to trust in the sovereignty of God when it is the other person hurting. We need to be like Jesus of whom it was said, A bruised reed he will not break (Matthew 12:20). Let us not be guilty of breaking a bruised read (a heavy heart) by insensitive treatment of the heavy doctrine of the sovereignty of God. — Jerry Bridges, Trusting God Even When Life Hurts, pp. 52-53
Posted on: Sat, 30 Aug 2014 17:10:13 +0000
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