Trials have an amazing purpose

 
After eight hours of sound sleep, I woke up tired. A small thing compared to the many troubles in this world. We all face sorrow in life, wonder if God has forgotten us and why the world is in such a mess, even just our own portion of it. Reading today offers the fact that we live in a fallen world that is ruined by sin. Sometimes it is our own sin, but the reading says “more often than not it is one of those things” and many are affected by it.

Yet we have a sovereign God who promises to use all things for good in the lives of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). That does not say all good things, but all things. He even says:

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. (James 1:2–4)

My mother said it too. Her version: “We must need it or we would not be getting it.” She set me up to accept trouble rather than fight them or pray to make them go away. This has not been automatic though. It takes time to realize that even though trials come, God still reigns. He is able to use even the greatest trials as He transforms the lives of His people:

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1–5)

And sometimes He does deliver us. When I am thankful and obedient in trials (another difficult lesson) He keeps this promise:

Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” (Psalm 50:14–15)

As I think of troubles in the world, how would I learn the love and power of God if everything was perfect? I call myself God’s spoiled brat as it is! He wants me to be like Jesus, so He allows me to experience whatever will help me “know how to be brought low, and know how to abound.” In any and every circumstance, I must learn the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need so that I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:12–13) Otherwise, I’d be a wimpy brat as well as one spoiled.

PRAY: God, You always offer comfort in the midst of trouble. You do not always rescue me but You do provide grace and strength in it. You also assure me that at the end, all will be made right. In the meantime, You use trials as discipline, or to give me a deeper revelation of Yourself, and to transform me into the image of Your Son. I know that You always do what is right, even if I cannot see it. Whatever comes my way, I can be sure of this: “The eternal God is my dwelling place, and underneath are Your everlasting arms…” (Deuteronomy 33:27) for I have learned that in whatever situation I am to be content because I can do all things through Jesus who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:11–13). Thank You!

Don’t go barefoot!

 

Anyone who has walked around outside with no shoes knows that some areas are off-limits when you're barefoot. I always wear shoes because when I don’t, I invariably drop something on my foot or stub a toe.

MacArthur illustrates the importance of proper footwear in sports. When I see women in extreme high heels, or wearing shoes that are too big or too small, I almost feel my own feet hurting. Sore feet can interfere with much of life. This is why footwear illustrates part of an effective piece of spiritual armor against Satan’s efforts to ruin Christian living . . .

Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. (Ephesians 6:14–15)

In Bible days, the Roman soldiers wore the right shoes for protection and good traction to move quickly. As a warrior in the army of God, I need to be properly shod too, but this verse is not about shoes but being ready to engage in battle by going on the offense and sharing the Gospel of peace with God with others.

This preparedness is being focused on all that Jesus has done to save me and to save other sinners, then when opportunities arise, this good news message will easily come out in my speech. Because I have put on this preparation, not just to protect myself from Satan’s lies such as, “How can you be a Christian? You are so useless” etc. I am eager to say what God has put in my heart.

It works like this: when I am thinking all day about the ache in my arm or the bruises on my legs, I’m apt to talk about that when someone visits me. If I think about my children all day, or about the quilt I am working on, those also become topics of conversation. However, if I am wearing the shoes that God gives, then I’m thinking about the amazing grace and love of Jesus. With Him on my mind, He is more easily on my lips.

A song titled “I Speak Jesus” says, “I just want to speak the name of Jesus, over every heart and every mind, because I know there is peace within Your presence, I speak Jesus.” It blesses the fact that with Jesus on my mind I want to put Him in the mind of others, if not with words to them, then in prayer to God. His Spirit can speak of peace with God to those who do not know Him, and the peace of His presence into those who do. So can His Word:

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ . . . . because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1–5)

The peace of God is often beyond comprehension. Philippians 4:6–7 says: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

God shows His love and gives His peace when it is least expected, like a time long ago when one of our children disappeared, or when I was in terrible pain, or when my hubby had a heart attack, and even during and after my recent tumble down a staircase.

His peace, as today’s devotional says, affirms that God is on my side. He cares about me and makes war with me against sin and evil. Nothing can stop Him from loving me:

If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? . . . . No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:31–39)

PRAY: Jesus, keep me well-shod, always with You in my thoughts, knowing You love me, knowing I have peace with God and the peace of God because of You. May I always be prepared to speak of You whenever possible.

PONDER: Consider the best ways to keep my focus on Jesus. Google this and read some links about spiritual disciplines and follow through. Also run to Him each time my weaknesses show up. 

 

 

Pray as you go . . .

 

1 Samuel 5–6; Psalm 19; Jeremiah 43; Romans 5

Before reading today’s Scriptures, I sang two songs that both are prayers asking to see Jesus. His answer was a deeper understanding of how He intercedes for us. Each passage guided me in prayer . . .

1 Samuel tells of how the Philistines captured the Ark of God and from there, their victories went sour. They put the Ark in the house of Dagon beside their god only to find the next morning that their idol had fallen on its face before the ark. They put it back but the next morning was the same only this time its head and hands were broken off.

I prayed for the people I know whose worship of idols has kept them from worshiping God. I prayed that God would cause those idols to fall and the thinking and doing that comes from worshiping them would be cut off. I also prayed that instead of trying to send the presence of God away, like the Philistines did, that they would realize the idols were worthless and God is the only one worthy of their worship.

Psalm 19 shows how creation declares the glory of God and how His truths are perfect and will meet every one of our needs. They also warn us about our errors so we can walk with integrity before the Lord. The psalm ends with:

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)

This is an often request for me. I prayed first for many to see Jesus and His glory in the world He created, in His Word and by His Spirit. Then I prayed these words for me too. What a difference God’s thoughts make to my day. Thank You!

The prophet Jeremiah is in Israel with the others who were left behind and not exiled to Babylon. They want to go to Egypt (a symbol of the old life) and while God warned not to do this, they went taking Jeremiah with them. The Word of the Lord to him is the same as it was before — God will strike down that place:

I shall kindle a fire in the temples of the gods of Egypt, and he shall burn them and carry them away captive. And he shall clean the land of Egypt as a shepherd cleans his cloak of vermin, and he shall go away from there in peace. He shall break the obelisks of Heliopolis, which is in the land of Egypt, and the temples of the gods of Egypt he shall burn with fire.’ ” (Jeremiah 43:12–13)

There is no escaping idolatry by fleeing to another set of idols. As I read this chapter, I prayed for all those caught in idolatry that has ruined their lives only to be attracted to another form of idolatry. I asked God to speak to them and deliver them, turning them back to the only One who can deliver them from their fears.

Romans 5 was a surprise. I’ve often read this description of a progression in faith, but today can see it more clearly because of the events in my own life:

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1–5)

Of course justification and peace with God is the first thing and I began that walk of faith by rejoicing in the hope He gives. Learning how to rejoice in suffering took much longer. Hindsight shows the value of trials, but even hindsight is not an easy lesson for a negative thinking person. A Pollyanna I am not! Yet years of surviving varying trials, I can now see how God used them to teach me endurance — from a Greek word that means: the capacity to continue to bear up under difficult circumstances. It always boiled down to a choice: bear it or go crazy. It was in those trials that I learned the wisdom of my mother’s oft-repeated platitude: “We must need it or we wouldn’t be getting it.” When I get to heaven, I will thank her profusely for saying it so much!

Yet the classroom does not close with endurance. God uses it to develop character — from a Greek word meaning  to learn the genuineness of something by examination and testing, often through actual use. In other words, endurance is to make me dependable, able to continue to do what I am supposed to do even when all else presses me to do otherwise. At the bottom line, it is about trusting God rather than trusting myself. The negative side is realizing that while He is dependable, I am not. I prayed about that too, for myself and for the family of God, that we would all realize it and have a depending character that produces hope — true hope in God, not in idols, dreams, wishes, and certainly not in myself.

APPLY: Quilters have a technique called ‘quilt as you go’ and today I experienced Bible reading with a similar technique — ‘pray as you go’ — bringing deeper significance to my union with Christ. Thank You, Jesus.