The Christian life is filled with inconsistencies that
make no human sense. To name a few: "we die so that we may live", "give
so that we will receive", and "exult in tribulation".
When seen from a spiritual perspective, however, we have
an "ah-ha" moment, because these paradoxes suddenly make a great deal
of sense. For instance, we die to our carnal nature, so that we gain eternal
life, which starts the moment of our salvation.
We live with an open hand, giving to the truly poor and
needy, and God blesses us abundantly in return. When considering rejoicing in
persecution, trials and tribulation, let's look more in depth at this alleged
contradiction.
We commonly view life through our soul - our thoughts,
emotions and resulting choices. This is a human perspective and is often
misleading. When viewed from our spirit, however, this makes perfect sense
(James 1:2-4).
God causes all of our negative experiences to work
together for our good, if we will love Him and walk in His purpose for our life
(Romans 8:28-31).
Tribulation provides us with perseverance, confirmed Godly
character and ultimately with hope during all future wounding experiences
(Romans 5:3-5).
Compared to eternity and the glory which awaits us there
through the sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ, our issues here on earth are minuscule; especially because they are building our faith, which is of greater
worth than all the riches of this world (1 Peter 1:6-7; 2 Corinthians 4:17).
When we read in God's Word about the trials experienced
by Jesus, all the prophets, as well as the former Saints of God, we realize
that what we experience is minimal compared to what they endured (Matthew
5:12).
As our spirit matures, we end up praising God for each
new ordeal, because the nature of Christ, who abides within us and experiences
the trouble with us, is revealed in us (1 Peter 1:8; Philippians 3:8).
Prayer:
Father God, remind us that we do not need to protect our
self, because You are present in our life to defend us. Heal our memories from
our past that tie us down to those negative encounters we experienced, and that
produce resentment, anger and unforgiveness. Reveal to us Your truth, that
dispels all of the lies which Satan planted in our soul during our painful experiences
in the past.
You give and You take away as You see fit, in order to
protect us, provide for us and lead us in Your everlasting way (Job 1:21; Psalm
139:24). Once we stop allowing the circumstances in our life to determine how
we think and feel, we can easily rejoice in Your goodness and maintain
determined faith in Your faithfulness.
Thought for the Day:
Like Paul, we rejoice in our afflictions, because we realize that they make us perfect, so that we lack no good thing in this life. - James 1:3-5
Like Paul, we rejoice in our afflictions, because we realize that they make us perfect, so that we lack no good thing in this life. - James 1:3-5
