05/10/2024
Is there a purpose drawn from the trouble we face in our lives? E.M. Bounds believed so and answers that question in this way: "Trouble is under the control of God and is one of His most efficient agents in fulfilling His purposes and in perfecting His saints." To make this point Bounds chose two verses from 1st Peter as the basis for this argument...
“Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:”
1 Peter 1:6-7 KJV
His point was that our troubles aren't caused by God but are "under the control of God." God conveniently uses the challenges and sorrows in our lives to bring us closer to Him and to strengthen our faith. In the case of Job He allowed Satan to sift and tempt him, and by doing so one of the greatest lessons of the bible is made available to millions upon millions of people. Through his faith Job illustrates the conviction that each of us should strive for; even in our most painful encounters with life’s trials and tribulations.
How we conduct ourselves and the determination with which we hold onto our faith is of paramount importance; it signals the strength and focus of our resolve to not only believe in God, but to serve Him. Then, it takes us a step further and teaches us the very character of God and something about His love, His ways, and how He deals with our earthly problems.
The Ten Commandments are instructions on how we are expected to live our lives, the beatitudes are also instructions on life but further refine the mannerisms that God would have us embody. We are being constantly refined through Christ for perfection in Him before the Father... All of the beatitudes deal with problems or crisis in our lives or in the lives of those around us and instruct us on how to deal with them. The ways in which we walk through these hard times illustrates how much like God we are meant to become, and in some ways have already become.
“Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”
Luke 6:36-38 KJV
Unlike Job, our trials are not meant to prove a point; they are meant to educate us and create individuals who will be comfortable in the presence of God. Bounds concludes his thoughts on this subject with a statement regarding the source of trouble; he says:
"No trouble is ever turned loose in this world, but it comes with divine permission to do its painful work with God's hand involved"
Think back on the first times you faced trouble in your Christian life. Wasn't your first lesson to bring your trouble before the Lord? Faith... without the most rudimentary trust in God we have nothing on which to build, but once in place then the processes of shoring it up and building upon it begins.
In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus wasn't learning a lesson on basic faith, He was perfecting and teaching us about much deeper principles like obedience, loving with all our heart, sacrificing, and following the will of God. The man in Christ was being completed by God, and it was happening right before our eyes. Prior to that He faced the same temptations and hardships that you and I face as men. His life demonstrated how God expects us to face troubles when we confront them too. Then, in those final moments of prayer and suffering we see the man in Jesus come under compete submission as He obeyed God’s will, even unto death. This is a lesson that the apostles took to heart from Christ’s last days, and followed as each one of them (except John) died horrible deaths similar to that of Jesus.
The list of life's troubles is long and exhausting, but this morning when we pray there will be some of us who grieve, some who are in need of healing, some who are being asked to lie, and even some who are facing a loss of faith. Whatever our trouble is today let's bring it before the Lord and ask Him to take it and teach us as He does. Let's pray that once we have maneuvered through each of our problems that we emerge more like Christ on the other side of it, and then let's praise God for the work He is doing in us.
I pray that God will keep you this day, and increase His victory in you through even the smallest of life’s troubles which you face. I pray that his hand will be on you and keep you every minute of every hour and that your face will reflect Christ’s before the world. Can you pray with me in like fashion? Can you find the peace of Christ in your faith at the height of your fears and troubles? Can you wipe the bloody sweat from your face and rise up to overcome the man in you as Jesus did?
““I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.””
John 16:33 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for every trial and tribulation we face in our lives, and give us the faith we need to overcome them. Show us your purpose in each of them father, and as we battle with our fear and doubt, let us look up from our desperate prayers to find that you are with us in every valley, even the valley of the shadow of death. Help us Lord to trust in you in these hard times, and to find the good lesson at the end of every hardship. Do this Father we pray, so that at the end of our days of temptation and suffering we will find that we have been covered in the blood of Christ, and perfected, even as Jesus the man was perfected. Teach us now Lord so that we will rejoice then, and will find the peace of Christ when we are brought home to you as He was. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who leads us through every moment of suffering that the world can present us, and every act of Satan’s sifting as he attempts to undo our faith. You are our strong tower, and when our faith begins to tremble, you send angels to strengthen us. See us through our tribulation today Father, and give us peace and calm before our enemies; even as you prepare a table for us before them. This is the day that you have made, complete with the hardships of the world, so why should we fear, and why shouldn’t we rejoice in its entirety… even the storms and heartbreaks that come. Your mercy and grace are sufficient for us Father, and every flash of lightening or bellowing roar of thunder that follows is testament to your power. The strong winds and raging waves look daunting to us and yet we are like the fish who swim deeper beneath them to find peace and calm despite their turmoil. We are like Jesus and Peter who walked upon them, made calm and without fear by their faith. You have promised to sustain us, and Jesus will come for us… in what then should we fear? In what vexation that the world brings forth should we believe we will be defeated? Praised be your name Holy Father, for great are you, and great is the name of your Son Jesus Christ. Show us our lives as if they were a Psalm, so that in it we can see you, and know that we will live in your house forever.
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”
Psalm 23 KJV
Amen!
Rich Forbes