In my experience, hardship is usually not a test or a punishment but is more often than not God forging us into who He wants us to be. Like steel needs to be melted down to be made into something useful it’s the same with us.
When God is doing lots of work in us we can only rely on Him but He is faithful to give us strength to survive the process.
I have found the greatest joy I have is when I have spent time studying the Word. Prayer also lifts me up. And also I love to fellowship with my brothers at church. Last weekend I was able to “accomplish” engaging in all three of these means of grace, and I, too, was on a high, doing well and honoring God, as my mind was filled with thoughts of worshipping Him, but some incidents occurred as the work week started up. First, there was a homeless guy who practically stalked me as I was parking. Annoyed, I told him no, in an annoyed voice, as soon as he inevitably asked me something, not just because he walked up out of nowhere right when I parked and was staring at me for practically a full minute, as my AC went out and I had no choice but to get out of my car and engage with him because I could not stay in my car because it was hot, but there is a sense in which beggars completely put you on a spot of feeling guilty for their own moral failings for putting them in that position to begin with (often, not all the time, but the impoverished in America are rich to the impoverished of other countries; I’ve seen true poverty, and a beggar who ends up cursing you because you don’t give him something, which is what this homeless man ended up doing, is not truly in need; a truly in-need man, at least who is humble, will weep in humility as he begs; I’ve seen this too.), even though the Bible instructs us to give as we can, so this is more so why I was annoyed at being put on the spot, so to speak. He cursed me as he walked off. Angry, I told him more firmly to go away. He did, but the moment I did that and hated him with my words I was grieved I had not turned the other cheek, let alone that I am grieved at my hard heart to bear and engage with a homeless man, whether he was a jerk and deserved it or not, that I completely rejected a homeless man and listened to my own pride that I didn’t want to put up with a hinderance to my day, that I didn’t give something when my heart really wants to give, and that I acted on the impulse of my flesh. And afterward I lost the momentum of my joy as the monotonous work week started up again. So, I was reminded of how much of a sinner I am and despite how well I may do one day, because of my fallen sin nature I will always need Christ because He is holy, there is none other like God, and my righteousness is not found in me but in Him. Also, I can relate to the reality that as we fix one thing, three or four more things break down. This is a result of the curse on fallen humanity. These incidents remind us that we are not self-sufficient; God is, and we need Him to wholly rely on, in prayer and in His Word. We want to recover Eden, but this side of heaven, if we are in Christ, if you are saved, God will use these seasons of trials and loss to, as another commenter said, forge and mold us into the vessels that will honor and in the end most glorify Him (“all things works to good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose”). We like sheep continually forget God’s providence and His will in our lives and His commandments to obey Him, so we continually try to recover Eden by going back to Egypt, by pursuing every possible avenue in our carnality to recover our happiness, except to run to Christ, in prayer on our knees, and in His Word, and He will spend a lifetime to discipline you and lovingly guide you back to worshipping and loving Him and looking to Him for the source of our happiness, not every other external hobby and pursuit we try to find our joy in. Only an eternal God can fill the longing of eternity Ecclesiastes 3:11 says we have, and in a sense, if possible, I would wish to shortcut your, as well as any reader’s, striving for recovering Eden in your own strength and redirect you to looking to Christ for that deep joy, from my own experience, though it will ultimately be God who accomplishes this in His servant, though He uses the members of His body, us in Christ, to edify one another toward this purpose and to stir one another up to good works. What I have found to be so wonderful in my most recent discovery in my journey and pursuit of Christ is that my sense of how well I am honoring God and hence joy may wane, but I ‘remember’ what joy I had, and that memory gives me hope to find it ultimately in Christ at the revelation of His coming but that until then each weekend and evening I may return to His Word and each morning I may come to Jesus in prayer and I may be lifted up again. God in the Old and New Testaments constantly tells His people to ‘remember, not to forget but to remember,’ His grace that He has brought us so that we do not forget and go back to the land of Egypt.
Alison, just remember that you are a superstar, in the eyes of your fans, but more importantly in the eyes of God! He hates our suffering. Sometimes reminding myself of the greater mission is the perspective I need to move on. Psalm 71:20-21 and Isaiah 43:2
In my experience, hardship is usually not a test or a punishment but is more often than not God forging us into who He wants us to be. Like steel needs to be melted down to be made into something useful it’s the same with us.
When God is doing lots of work in us we can only rely on Him but He is faithful to give us strength to survive the process.
Thank you very much for sharing this. I feel you. I identified so much with you in these moments. May the Lord sustain us through the storm.
Hey Alison,
I have found the greatest joy I have is when I have spent time studying the Word. Prayer also lifts me up. And also I love to fellowship with my brothers at church. Last weekend I was able to “accomplish” engaging in all three of these means of grace, and I, too, was on a high, doing well and honoring God, as my mind was filled with thoughts of worshipping Him, but some incidents occurred as the work week started up. First, there was a homeless guy who practically stalked me as I was parking. Annoyed, I told him no, in an annoyed voice, as soon as he inevitably asked me something, not just because he walked up out of nowhere right when I parked and was staring at me for practically a full minute, as my AC went out and I had no choice but to get out of my car and engage with him because I could not stay in my car because it was hot, but there is a sense in which beggars completely put you on a spot of feeling guilty for their own moral failings for putting them in that position to begin with (often, not all the time, but the impoverished in America are rich to the impoverished of other countries; I’ve seen true poverty, and a beggar who ends up cursing you because you don’t give him something, which is what this homeless man ended up doing, is not truly in need; a truly in-need man, at least who is humble, will weep in humility as he begs; I’ve seen this too.), even though the Bible instructs us to give as we can, so this is more so why I was annoyed at being put on the spot, so to speak. He cursed me as he walked off. Angry, I told him more firmly to go away. He did, but the moment I did that and hated him with my words I was grieved I had not turned the other cheek, let alone that I am grieved at my hard heart to bear and engage with a homeless man, whether he was a jerk and deserved it or not, that I completely rejected a homeless man and listened to my own pride that I didn’t want to put up with a hinderance to my day, that I didn’t give something when my heart really wants to give, and that I acted on the impulse of my flesh. And afterward I lost the momentum of my joy as the monotonous work week started up again. So, I was reminded of how much of a sinner I am and despite how well I may do one day, because of my fallen sin nature I will always need Christ because He is holy, there is none other like God, and my righteousness is not found in me but in Him. Also, I can relate to the reality that as we fix one thing, three or four more things break down. This is a result of the curse on fallen humanity. These incidents remind us that we are not self-sufficient; God is, and we need Him to wholly rely on, in prayer and in His Word. We want to recover Eden, but this side of heaven, if we are in Christ, if you are saved, God will use these seasons of trials and loss to, as another commenter said, forge and mold us into the vessels that will honor and in the end most glorify Him (“all things works to good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose”). We like sheep continually forget God’s providence and His will in our lives and His commandments to obey Him, so we continually try to recover Eden by going back to Egypt, by pursuing every possible avenue in our carnality to recover our happiness, except to run to Christ, in prayer on our knees, and in His Word, and He will spend a lifetime to discipline you and lovingly guide you back to worshipping and loving Him and looking to Him for the source of our happiness, not every other external hobby and pursuit we try to find our joy in. Only an eternal God can fill the longing of eternity Ecclesiastes 3:11 says we have, and in a sense, if possible, I would wish to shortcut your, as well as any reader’s, striving for recovering Eden in your own strength and redirect you to looking to Christ for that deep joy, from my own experience, though it will ultimately be God who accomplishes this in His servant, though He uses the members of His body, us in Christ, to edify one another toward this purpose and to stir one another up to good works. What I have found to be so wonderful in my most recent discovery in my journey and pursuit of Christ is that my sense of how well I am honoring God and hence joy may wane, but I ‘remember’ what joy I had, and that memory gives me hope to find it ultimately in Christ at the revelation of His coming but that until then each weekend and evening I may return to His Word and each morning I may come to Jesus in prayer and I may be lifted up again. God in the Old and New Testaments constantly tells His people to ‘remember, not to forget but to remember,’ His grace that He has brought us so that we do not forget and go back to the land of Egypt.
God bless you!
Isaiah
Hang in. I have days like that too.
Alison, just remember that you are a superstar, in the eyes of your fans, but more importantly in the eyes of God! He hates our suffering. Sometimes reminding myself of the greater mission is the perspective I need to move on. Psalm 71:20-21 and Isaiah 43:2