Friday already? Hey, I’ll take it. Allison, Terri, thanks for your encouraging comments. I love hearing from those of you reading. Please don’t be shy.
Well, here it is, seven days since writing last Friday about my particularly hard week. I shared with you Monday and Wednesday how God has ministered to me through His Word, through my times of prayer, and tremendously through friends both near and far.
Have circumstances changed since last Friday? That is for the better? Not at all. Actually, circumstances have heated up a little more in the last week, not less. But this doesn’t surprise me. Scripture lists many examples of life becoming more difficult not less, right before God does something big. For those of you who are not familiar with the story and even those of you who are, read Exodus 3-12. It’s a great read and replete with encouragement. I bet a week hasn’t gone by in months where I haven’t thought of some component of this story at least once.
Given that my circumstances haven’t changed, you might think I was asked, “What’s new?” I might say “Nothing.” or “Not much.”
Not so.
When asked this questions in good times, but especially in hard times, generally I’ll answer “Lots!” Some people get this surprised look on their faces, expecting I’m going to tell them about some new job, beau, upcoming vacation—something exciting. Sometimes I’ll qualify my answer, sometimes not. Depends if I’m asked.
Yes, “lots” has happened this week, but all on the inside of me. If you’ve been reading my blog, you knew by Monday’s entry I was already in a different place emotionally and spiritually than I had been only three days before. And today I’m yet in a different place than I was on Wednesday.
Yesterday a friend called to share some news with me. I listened intently. After she’d finished, she asked, “How are you?” Without a second’s thought, I launched into what the Lord was teaching me about Himself. I knew I felt passionate about all I shared but didn’t realize how much so until I finally stopped talking long enough to take a breath. She’s a good listener, plus she knew my whole purpose in sharing was not so much to talk about “the problem” but to brag on God for all He was teaching me.
We ended that phone call, praying for one another, thanking God for His faithfulness, and asking Him to work out each of our concerns. Sweetest hour of my day. Another gift from God.
You may have heard the expression, “What doesn’t kill you will make you grow.” Well, God certainly isn’t trying to kill His children, and so whatever He allows in our lives will not kill us but is designed to make us grow. But it doesn’t just stop there. God’s ultimate goal is not simply that I “grow” but that I grow in love for my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The better I know Christ—and fact is, the most “efficient” way this happens is through trials—the more I will become like Him. And the more I become like Him, the more I will reflect His character. Others will see Christ in me (the goal) by the way I treat them. “They’ll know we are Christians by our love” I used to sing back in my high school youth group.
To say I’m not even close to where I want to be in respect to loving others is to state the obvious, but this is my desire.
Now I will not be disappointed when this trial is over. No way. If I can balance a megaphone in one hand while steering my bicycle, I’ll probably ride through the streets of Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho shouting, “It’s over, it’s over, yippee, hooray, the trial’s over. Praise the Lord!” But until that happens, whether today or some time from now, I don’t want to miss a single one of God’s purposes and blessings in the middle of it. This is not about me. It’s about God. Have you heard that? It’s true.
A final thought. Many of you may have been told over the years when facing a difficult crisis, “Wow, God must really have some special, important, big lesson to teach you.” I don’t know about you, but I’ve found such a statement hurtful, even insulting at times. Of course, God always wants to teach us, I’ve just said as much, but this is not the only reason for trials. The primary purpose of a trial is that God is glorified. He shows Himself off best when we’re the weakest.
Just as a jeweler will showcase a fine diamond on a black velvet background, God showcases Who He Is best against the backdrop of our weakness in various difficulties. When we are weak, God wants to show Himself strong. I know God is using my trial presently to encourage others in their walk with the Lord, some facing far more difficult trials than I. But see, this is not a contest—who has the worst trial.
We all have different thresholds for what we can handle based on a variety of factors, some which may be clear to us and those who love us, some known only to God. He absolutely will not give us more than we can handle and His grace is sufficient for whatever that trial is. Again, God wants to glorify Himself. He wants the world to see how real and big and wonderfully powerful He is in His strength and His love and His provision for those He created. I’ll never get it, but He loves to show His power through us through mere mortals.
So, if you’re facing some hard trial today, don’t think if you’ll just figure out this one lesson to be learned and then learn it well, the trial will end and you’ll advance to the next level. This is not some TV game show. This is my life, this is your life, and God doesn’t toy with our lives. He loves us. There is no “magic bullet” out of a trial. There is God’s grace and mercy and kindness and purpose through it all, though. “Just give me Jesus.” That’s what I want most of all.
Have a great weekend and I’ll see y’all back on Monday.
“Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3 NIV)