God’s purpose for my trials

 

Sitting for long periods of time on hard chairs is not doing my body any favors. I woke up this morning after a day flying and driving and thought of those verses in the Bible about steadfastness and patient endurance. As much as pain is a distraction, I know that God has a purpose in even this. His will is that I be like Jesus who is certainly the best example of how to endure tough times. For the worst of them, He said, “Not my will but thy WILL be done.”

In the OT, STEADFAST used more than two hundred times. It almost always refers to loyal love, an unfailing kind of love, kindness, or goodness that describes God’s love and faithfulness in relation to His covenant and His people. This means that when I say “Thy will be done” I know it will be for God’s glory and my well-being. Just two examples show what His love does and how I am supposed to respond:

Exodus 15:13. “You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.”

Psalm 13:5. “But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.”

I’ve found complaining easier than rejoicing but complaining says that I’m not trusting His will for me, that I would rather rule my own life and not have this problem (or any problems).

There are two words in the NT that are translated steadfast. The first one means ‘to be steady, not subject to change or variation; especially in behavior.’ It is about keeping on, about doing what God wants me to do without getting tired or thinking it is a waste of time and effort. 1 Corinthians 15:58 puts a positive spin on my aches and pains: “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”

That is helpful. I’ve a task today that qualifies as “the work of the Lord” and need to think of it, not myself or my problems. The other steadfast word describes what I need to be able to do that. It means ‘steadfast endurance, the power to withstand hardship or stress; especially the inward fortitude necessary.’

The verses that were on my mind when I woke up come from James 1. They are not popular, but this says what I need from God — so I do not whine but joyfully engage the challenges of today.

James 1:2–5. “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”

A few other verses using the same word are also helpful and encouraging.

Colossians 1:9–11. “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy.”

2 Thessalonians 1:4. “Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.”

Hebrews 12:1. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. The bodily discomfort may or may not diminish, but either way, the joy of the Lord is my strength and by keeping my focus on Him and His steadfast love and purpose for this trial changes things. For that, I am grateful and will press on.

 

The Only Way to be Mighty . . .

 

The English word MIGHTY has many synonyms. So do the Hebrew and Greek languages. Depending on how they are used, these words can mean power, strength, might, force, ability, wonders, and miracles. What makes them distinctive in the Bible is that the word chosen to describe the actions of Jesus indicates that His power has a supernatural force behind it.

We know that word. My husband has a chronic form of leukemia. During a recent visit to his oncologist, she said, “Your bloodwork is a train wreck. How do you have those numbers and still show good health? It must be a divine intervention.”

In the NT this word dynamis is one of several that is translated as mighty and most often refers to the works of Jesus and the power of God. From this we conclude that God is a mighty God, able to do great things because of His power and strength.

1 Chronicles 29:11. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all.

The people of the OT looked at events in their history to see this power. For example, Exodus 15:13 says, “You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode” and Exodus 32:11 says, “Moses implored the Lord his God and said, ‘O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?’”

In the NT, dynamis essentially means “power,” but it also refers to acts of power or ‘miracles’ attributed to a supernatural force indicating that God is at work.

Acts 2:22. “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know . . . .”

The Gospels relate these mighty acts to show that Jesus Christ is not a mere man or even a prophet. He is God the Son, able to do what no other can do. His first mighty miracle was to turn water into wine, indicating that He did not come to wield His power in a destructive manner. He also healed the sick, put demonic forces on the run, calmed storms, and raised the dead.

For these actions, the people were divided. Some attributed them to demonic forces yet that could not be true because those forces serve the one Jesus called the Liar and Destroyer. What Jesus did was true and helpful. He was not empowered by Satan.

Others realized that the works of Jesus were done because of the mighty power of God but they were confused because Jesus acted in humility and kindness. They expected a Messiah that would deliver them from Roman oppression but Jesus was not the mighty king they hoped for.

A few realized Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God and that He was powerful and yet full of grace and truth. His kingdom was not of this world and the only way to enter it was through faith and on bended knee, receiving new life from Him via another mighty act, that of salvation and redemption in a ‘new birth’ that changed their lives.

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. Other words are translated “mighty.” One of them tells me: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you.” (1 Peter 5:6). Therefore, I use the term “bended knee” as a reminder to be receptive to God’s power instead of relying on my own. Even after being a Christian for many years, access to Almighty God remains the same; He bids me come in humility, acknowledging my helplessness and how deeply I need His mighty hand so that I can live as He desires. His strength is perfected in weakness and the only way to be mighty is to first be helpless.