We’ve all met
them – bitter, sad creatures who have experienced some hard knocks in life: who
walk around, bent under the heavy weight of their burdens, delighting to
brandish their sorrows to anyone who will listen. These people are bitter,
angry, and pathetic. They are discouraging to be around! Quite frankly, I’ve
known people who, when faced with a LITTLE trial, literally ceased to function!
I've been there. Sadly, there have been times when that scenario could have
described me. I am happy to say that not everyone is like that, because what a
depressing world it would be if we all carried around our burdens like a heavy
load and sat around complaining about all the negative things in our lives.
We’d have a lot to talk about, but it would be rather depressing!
I’ve known people
who let pain define their lives, but I’ve also known people who let pain be an
instrument of grace and growth. These people, rather than carry their burdens
as a means for seeking pity, have allowed their trials to teach them -looking
on them not as curses, but blessings. These people radiate the joy of the Lord!
What makes the difference?
When we look at
overwhelming circumstances, it’s hard to see how God is working “all things for
good.” (Romans 8:28) Our idea of “good” is often very different from God’s. We
have this mental image of the perfect life: a perfect spouse, perfect job,
perfect children, nice house, nice car…you get the idea. We would consider
these things “good”. Many people have this mistaken idea that God wants us to
have every desire of our heart and to live out our lives on earth in peace with
every earthly comfort possible. But that perspective is not Biblical. God’s will is not to make us comfortable.
God’s will is to change us.
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them
who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to
the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” Romans 8:28-29
What is
this“good” that God purposes to do? He wants to conform us to the image of
Christ. That is the ultimate good He is working toward in all our
circumstances. Is it always pleasant? No. Does it always “feel good” at the
time? No.
“…we have had fathers of our flesh which
corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in
subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days
chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be
partakers of his holiness. Now no
chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless
afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are
exercised thereby.” Hebrews 12:9-11
Sometimes we
foolishly think that God is like us. He isn’t! God is more holy, more powerful,
and more glorious than our finite minds could ever imagine. This may come as a
surprise, but redemption is not about us. We were created and redeemed HIM and
for His glory! (Proverbs 16:4) God is
not so much concerned with our happiness, but with our holiness. We must be
made like Him!
“Follow…holiness,
without which no man shall see the Lord…”Hebrews
12:14
God’s work of
sanctification is life-long and will not be complete before we stand before Him
in heaven.
Lies or Truth…?
Many people
measure God’s love towards them by their feelings or circumstances. These are
faulty guidelines by which to measure God’s love. Our hearts are “deceitful and
desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9) and our feelings are wishy-washy, often
changing from moment to moment. Our circumstances are often tools that God uses
to expose the true beliefs of our hearts. There was a time in my life when I
went through a difficult season. I was struggling with pain and confusion. It
seemed as if God had forgotten me, and I certainly couldn’t see how God was
working all things for good. In the midst of my grieving, someone said to
me,“God didn’t die!” To my shame, that’s how I was acting. It’s easy to say
that you believe God is good, but what about when you lose your job? Do you
believe God is good then? Or did God “slip up” and let something bad happen?
I’ve met many Christians who profess the sovereignty of God, but when trials
come…well, we quickly learn what their beliefs truly are. Our “functional
beliefs” are the ones that we live by. These are the beliefs that orient us to
our world and our circumstances. They command our actions. The Bible says of
God, “…Thou hast made the heaven and the
earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard
for thee…”(Jeremiah 32:17) I know this verse and I profess to believe it.
But, I start to worry about…my job, my future…it could be any number of things
that keep me awake at night. Now, wait a minute! What happened to “there is nothing too hard for thee?”There
is a contradiction between what I know and what I believe. What am I trusting
in? I am making God small and putting circumstances in the position of ultimate
power and authority. I am either believing that God is too great to be bothered
with my circumstances, or I am believing that He is unable to do anything about
them. Is that what I profess? Of course not! I would never say that my
circumstances are greater than God! Oh, but Satan loves to plant seeds of doubt
in our minds. He loves to come along and whisper, “Yea, hath God said?” If I doubt that God cares for my needs, I am
questioning His sovereignty, His love, and His wisdom. There have been many
times, to my shame, when I have walked around in defeat as if God were not on
the throne just because things didn’t go according to my desires. These lies
have become my functional beliefs – the ones that I am living by.
Blessings or curses?
We think of
blessings as those things that make us happy and comfortable. But shouldn’t we
look on our trials as blessings when they are primarily what God uses to make
us like Himself? If we believe that God is sovereign, then all things, good or
bad, come from His hand. If that is the case, then even the trials and
tribulations are part of His divine will and purpose in our life! We are
blessed that He cares about us enough to not leave us where we are but that His
love is purposeful and redemptive!
Some of the
blessings in trials:
· They expose our hearts and show us
what we’re made of.
· They show us the emptiness of temporal
pleasures and make us long for heaven.
· They cause us to seek God.
· They show us our sinfulness and our
need for God’s mercy.
· They teach us humility.
· They cause us to grow.
· They are instruments of God’s mercy
and grace.
· They can be a testimony to others.
· They teach us that God is sufficient.
· They are one of the main tools that
God uses to make us into the image of Christ.
Looking back on
my life, I can see that the times of greatest growth were the times of greatest
trial. The easy times when I didn’t have so many struggles were times of sort
of resting– not really growing, just sort of complacent. Every time when I’ve
had difficulty, that’s when I’ve been learning, stretching, growing, leaning,
seeking, and falling, but getting up again. I’ve learned more in a short time
during the trials than I could have ever learned in those times of ease! I
remember during a period of deep struggle, I said, “Lord, bring on the trials,
if only to make me more like You!” I don’t recommend praying that prayer. I
would never wish to go through that particular situation again. But even in the
midst of my pain, I could see that God was using that very hurt to cause me to
seek Him. When my silly dreams and hopes had been stripped away, all I could do
was cry out to Him. And I learned that He was enough. He is the Sacrifice that
will never be rejected, a Keeper that never sleeps, the Great Physician, the
Healer of broken hearts, the Friend that never fails, and the Hope that never
disappoints.
A godly response to trials
You have a
choice. Will you be bitter or blessed? Maybe your circumstances are painful,
but God is still good. He uses evil for good and makes the bitter sweet. He
gives “beauty for ashes, the oil of joy
for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.”(Isaiah 61:3)
Give Him glory no matter what you’re facing. He is worthy of our praise! Know
that God is sovereign. Believe it and live
what you believe. Don’t complain about your circumstances because they are
from God! Rather than praying for God to change your circumstances, pray for
God to use your circumstances to change you. Give thanks for what God is doing.
Maybe you aren’t at a place where you can thank God for the heartache or the
loss. But you can rejoice in that God has allowed it for your good and His
glory. Rejoice that He is using the trials and circumstances to wean you from
this world and make you into His image.
To God be the glory!
Additional Scriptures on the topics of trials
and suffering: Job 23:10, Romans 5:3-5, Romans 8:17-18, 2 Corinthians 4:17-18,
2 Corinthians 12:7-10, 1 Peter 1:7, 1 Peter 2:20-24, 1 Peter 4:12-16
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