20090419
Sportsmen willingly persevere through gruelling training regimes. Why? Because they know it is necessary if they want to achieve their goal. Our heavenly Father lovingly subjects His children to a training (discipline) program here on earth. We encounter troubles, difficulties, illnesses and all kinds of setbacks. Our troubles could be due to spiritual warfare or a result of our own sinful nature or the sinful nature of others or it could be simply allowed by God in His sovereignty. Whatever the reason for each trial, we know that God intends it for our good.
In James 1, we are told that trials develop our perseverance so that we may become mature and complete. In Hebrew 12, we are also reminded that God allows suffering because He loves us. He disciplines us for our good, so that we can share in His holiness. And it is for these reasons that we are to count it a joy when we face trials of many kinds. This does not mean that we are to rejoice and be happy in our trials but we are to take joy in what suffering produces. Our Lord Jesus Christ sets the example when He “for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame” (Heb. 12:2). He endured the endless opposition and persecution of the Jewish religious leaders and other enemies so that He could accomplish God’s salvation plan for the whole world. The apostle Paul also sets the example of perseverance when he persevered through all kinds of terrible hardship, including a thorn in a flesh that God did not remove despite his plea. He never gave up preaching the gospel wherever God chose to send him.
When we face trials, our natural response is to ask God to remove them quickly. But God does not usually work that way. God works purposefully, progressively and powerfully. He is the potter and we are the clay. He is moulding us and He will not be rushed. What is your reaction to trials? Instead of focusing on the situation, will you focus on Him? While waiting for deliverance, will you look at the benefit of the trial and rely on God’s strength to persevere? Yes, all trials are painful and disheartening. But will you go along with God’s training regime for you and like the apostle Paul say that “we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:17b-18).
“The stronger the winds, the deeper the roots. The deeper the roots and the longer the winds, the more beautiful the tree.” (Charles Swindoll)
