Okay, I confess. I cheated and took the title from a chapter that isn’t in today’s reading. I hope you’ll read along anyway:
Some of our favorite stories are of people who rise above the depths of their childhood darkness. We are in awe of people who not only endure tremendous pain, but who come out stronger and kinder and successful, people like Louis Zamperini whose trauma as a prisoner of war was followed in the recent film ‘Unbroken’.
Yet at the same time, we probably know a family member or friend, or maybe it’s ourselves who buckle under difficulty, lash out at others, withdraw permanently, those who have now adopted a negative, critical view of life and others, who are engulfed in bitterness and hurt. So, are some people just better when it comes to enduring affliction?
I wouldn’t say so, and I don’t think Paul would either. I think perspective and hope make all the difference – and how much greater the difference when our perspectives and hopes are rooted in Christ.
Many of us Christians know certain truths – we have a ‘head knowledge’ about what suffering is, what the purpose of it might be, how to endure. We’ve read 2 Corinthians 1 and highlighted verses like “…the God of all comfort, who comforts us in our afflictions” or “ For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too” or “But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead” or “On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.”
Yet it isn’t until we’re broadsided by difficulty that we can begin the process of transferring that head-knowledge to functional heart-knowledge. The question isn’t whether we’re strong enough or good enough to endure or whether we just have an outstanding character or we’re magically-equipped for life, the question is whether we’ll continue to draw close to the One who is strongest, the only One good enough, the One who can deliver us and comfort us and transform us.
Oftentimes, it’s those very difficulties we want to be rid of that are actually our gateway into a deeper communion with God, and a greater maturity as his children. When trials come, we all can see those ugly traits that have been hiding within the recesses of our hearts. So, if we’re feeling discouraged not only because of our circumstances, but also because of how we’ve been reacting to them, we can take heart. That’s precisely what God wants us to notice. He’s not surprised – though we might not have realized our weaknesses, he’s always seen them, and suffering can be a tool of God to bring those weaknesses into our line of vision. He doesn’t want us to be paralyzed, but rather motivated to pray, reflect, and rely on him for growth. Nevertheless, enduring suffering well may include very long periods of much sorrow, depression, tears, “despairing of life”, it may mean confusion and setbacks and frustration. We don’t need to hinder our progress by feeling guilt over where we are in our growth. Let’s simply focus on one day at a time, and make our goal each day to simply abide in Christ.
His will is for us to come out stronger and better through trials, but never by our own doing or as a cause for boasting. God is not waiting to discover which person we’ll be, which category we’ll fall into, he’s waiting for us to discover him and what he will do through us if we’ll humbly allow.
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” – 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Today’s Reading: 1 Sam 9-10, Psalm 119:17-24, 1 Cor 16- 2 Cor 1
Pursue Righteousness 