We must have it easy! Right? As children of God, nothing bad can ever happen to us. If God is truly our Father, filled with love and compassion, mercy and grace; it would only be logical, as “children of God”, to live on easy street! Wealthy, successful and satisfied, no problems, no plagues; we Christians have it made! The fact of the matter is that the Christian life is not a life for the faint of heart. It is not a life empty of struggles and strain. It is a life that experiences difficulties in many varieties. The Christian life can feel sort of like running a gauntlet wondering if you are going to make it all of the way through before you collapse. I know Christian brothers and sisters who have experienced or are experiencing a struggle or strain; of all kinds. These are people who are not being punished by God for some reason although God certainly can and does correct His children. Many of these individuals literally deal with a “hell on earth” but remain faithful in their faith. These problems range from physical to mental to spiritual to financial to emotional to familial to social to occupational. In other words, these problems cover every possible aspect of life. It would be impossible for me to list every imaginable problem we face today as Believers. However, that impossibility does not reject us from investigating into God’s word about this subject. Struggle, is a modern occurrence. From the earliest records contained in the Bible, mankind has suffered. Beginning with the fall in the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve were banished to work the remainder of their days; continuing all of the way through the imprisonment of the John the apostle; where he wrote the book of Revelation, the Bible is full if tales of suffering. Job as a righteous man contending with the Satan’s ridiculous assault on his life and his family or Jesus Christ enduring crucifixion (which by no means did He deserve). The fact is, no one throughout the Bible was immune from the trials of life. Even the wisest, wealthiest, most powerful man in the Bible (King Solomon) dealt with issues that seemed to overwhelm him at times. Remember, he wrote the book of Ecclesiastes and is famous for the phrase, “Vanity, vanity, all is vanity.” If you don’t think Solomon had problems, go back and read this book. It is an eye opener. In fact, as I think about it, I cannot recall anyone in the entire Biblical account who did not deal with tribulations at some point during his or her life. It’s remarkable, with all that being the case, I can actually believe that as I would expect anything less, that we should be immune somehow from the difficulties of this life. Question: If Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God and the only perfect person to ever walk the face of this earth, was not immune from life’s problems, why do we think that we should be? The answer, of course, is that we shouldn’t be and we aren’t. Problems and difficulties are a part of life and for those people who wonder, “Why do we have to endure these problems?” the answer is Satan, the fall of man and a sinful world. There is the answer in a nut shell (of course, I must elaborate though); these trials exist and we have to deal with them. If we are going to endure difficulty in this life, no matter what face it takes, what should our approach and attitude be? Reflect, on how do we deal with it? The fact is that people deal with terrible, horrendous problems every day that try their faith. Some problems are almost beyond understanding. These trials can challenge the believer to just get through the day and fall into bed each night exhausted and wondering what tomorrow is going to bring. When in 1 Thessalonians we are told to seize the day! James is my dude, because he takes an unusual view of trials in his writings when he said: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1: 2-4 We are really supposed to be joyful when we have problems? Are you kidding me? Nope. We are to actually be glad when we encounter these difficulties. The reason, according to James, is that the trials and tribulations of life begin a process, a “kairos” moment. This “kairos” moment ultimately leads to a certain result. The progression is from trials to the trying of your faith to patience and then letting patience work resulting in perfection (Christ). The truth is that no one, but the One, ever works through this progression to the point where perfection is reached; but it is to be our goal, to be “Reflectors of the Son”!, i.e. to become more like Christ. Along with that we develop certain attributes including faith and patience. Peter also addressed the concept of rejoicing in the face of problems and temptations. “In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. He indicated that we should greatly rejoice even though we are weighed down with the temptations of life. Your first thought when you read this may be, “What was he, some kind of nut??? What do you mean, greatly rejoice?” Peter then provides the reason for demonstrating this sort of attitude. The reason is that this “heaviness” will only be experienced for a season meaning that it is only temporary. Additionally, the reason for trials of faith is that through those trials you will be refined like gold ultimately resulting in praise, honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. These attributes are much more valuable than gold itself which will ultimately become eternally worthless Keep in mind that what we call “wealth” in this life, i.e. gold, the heavenly host calls “asphalt” in heaven.” 1 Peter 1:6-7 Paul, to the Romans, emphasized we should celebrate when we experience tribulation. He also provides the reasons, similar to Peter, for his statement. “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Romans 5: 3-5 Once again we see the progression in the spiritual growth of the believer that comes from tribulations. That range starts with trials that produce patience; the next step in the range is experience coming from patience; hope follows thereafter; and finally, hope gives us the courage to spread the love of God which is brought to live within us by the Holy Spirit. Paul endured to the end of his life; for Jesus Christ. The trials and tribulations that he faced in his ministry brought contentment. Contentment is not happiness; it is satisfaction and he learned to be satisfied no matter what the circumstances. “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 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, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:11-13 Paul was able to endure, because he did not rely upon his own strength but he learned to do everything he needed to do through the strength of Jesus Christ. The strength of Christ is a strength or power that in the beginning made all of creation and at the end of His life, endured not just physical pain and suffering but also emotional and spiritual pain brought on by shouldering the sins of mankind and enduring separation from almighty God. His Father. Paul exposed, in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, that he was tormented by a “thorn in the flesh.” What is known is that Paul endured it even though he had asked God to remove it from him. God’s answer was, “No. My grace is enough.” God loved Paul just as He loves us but there was a larger purpose to be served through Paul’s suffering. That purpose lives through the centuries not just through Paul’s witness and his writings but the phrase “thorn in the flesh” is used even today to describe suffering. “or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 Paul did not just write about a joyful attitude when suffering through the trials of life; he evidenced it. He said that he took pleasure in these trials for the sake of Christ because when he was at his weakest point, it was then that he was strong through the power of Jesus Christ. Timothy does the same thing when he says eve the saints will suffer persecution. We have indicated how sufferings may be made visible in a believer’s life but the point is that suffering is a part of life. Timothy was no exception; he endured and was delivered out of them by God. “persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. 12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” 2 Timothy 3: 11-13 There are those who may say that God has not delivered them despite their faith and their prayers. God did not deliver Jesus Christ or the apostle Paul from his suffering either. The question then arises if suffering can be for a larger purpose than just beyond our limited human perspective. The answer is that suffering can serve a much higher and noble purpose than we can imagine. A faithful life lived (endured) with suffering is a very powerful witness. Attitude is everything and even though life may be difficult, there is an end in sight. Once again, I believe that God is much more concerned about your spiritual condition (and the spiritual condition of others) than He is about your physical condition. Some react by saying, “You just don’t understand what I am going through. No one could deal with this. No one should have to deal with what I am dealing with.” God understands and yes, you can deal with it through the love, power and strength of Jesus Christ. Can your suffering serve a higher purpose? Can it be used to glorify God? If I am correct in what I have been reading, then we should count ourselves lucky when we endure the trials of life. That is where God is. The trials of life seem to be getting more difficult with each passing day. I personally know more people at this point in my life who are dealing with trials and tribulations than I have ever known before. These trials will only become more intense as time goes on. The Book of Revelation talks about the Tribulation and then the Great Tribulation which is revealed during the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Those troubles will make today’s problems look like nothing. Maintain an eternal perspective instead of a temporal one. Never give up; never surrender. Remember that your life is a witness to others even though you may not see it. In his letter to the church at Thessalonica, Paul addressed persecution and tribulation again: Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. “All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.” 2 Thessalonians 1:4-7 This is His promise though; a day of rest is coming when Jesus is revealed from heaven. It is the believer’s hope to be counted worthy and one day for Jesus Christ Himself to say, “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ Matthew 25:21 Let’s Pray! Father, The words of Matthew 25, verse 21, have echoed in my head all my life. To wake up for You and lie down to rest for You. That one day I may hear, “well done, good and faithful servant”. Until that day I lay it down. Father, “it” being everything that keeps me from experience the Peter, Paul and Timothy contentment; no matter where or what, I know You are there. For that, my prayer would be that this message brings Glory and Praise to Your Name! That it may be encouragement at the right time, for Your Chosen , to endure or finish strong; rather than quit, falling short. For we know Your arms are not to short to save. As You have already revealed time and time again. Father , You made us “worthy of the Kingdom”, Your Kingdom. Thank You for the fact there is nothing that we can do to cause You to love us more, or nothing we can do for You to love us less; but loving us so much, to no leave us as we are. Lastly Lord, I would like to invite the Holy Spirit to continue, the endless expedition of refining these “Reflectors”! For It’s Not For Us But All For You, Amen!
Posted on: Fri, 23 Aug 2013 09:35:01 +0000
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