His Blessed Work

 "Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses, and He led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation. OH THAT MEN WOULD PRAISE THE LORD FOR HIS GOODNESS, AND FOR HIS WONDERFUL WORKS TO THE CHILDREN OF MEN!" Psalm 107:5-8.

This wonderful Psalm repeats the above pattern four times. Do we get it? The whole point of our trial is that we have the opportunity to call out to God in desperation. And when we do, He delivers us, and shows us the right way. Is this not a summary of the cross, by which God leads us, corrects us, and makes sure we are on the right path? 

Of course, most often we see our trials quite the opposite way. We do not, as James writes to us, "consider it all a joy". Apart from the revelation of what God is doing, we may think that God has abandoned us, that He just doesn't care about our pain. Nothing, of course, could be farther from the truth. Here is an opportunity to set back the worldly powers that oppress us. There is a new song out that says, "I'm going to praise Him in the midst of the storm". When we do, our enemies must fall back, for the LORD dwells in the midst of our praises. 

So brothers and sisters, we ought pray not that our cross would be removed, but rather for revelation. We do not live only by natural bread, but by every WORD that proceeds from the mouth of God! We simply cannot understand our testings any other way. By faith we know that "this present tribulation is preparing for us an eternal weight of Glory beyond all comparison" (2 Corinthians 4:17. Oh, we see it! Praise God we see it! Our only question, writes Witness Lee, is "How much of us was lost, and how much of Christ was gained" in this tribulation. This is the weight of Glory we are gaining. We are now more ready for residence in the Eternal City of God. Our praises will ring out like the pilgrims in the Psalms of Ascents: "I was glad when they said unto me, 'Let us go into the house of the LORD'". 

Maturity in Christ or faking it.

 "We then, who are strong, ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves" Rom 15:!

In chapter 14 Paul is writing about those who are weak in the faith. Some were offended by eating meat sacrificed to idols. Now Paul, and those who were tracking with him, knew that "The Kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost", but for some new believers, who had not yet learned the freedom they have in Christ, such freedom is offensive. Paul tells us to let them be. Don't have a beer when we are with them if they believe that is something Christians "shouldn't" do. Etc. 

Well enough. But how can we tell if someone is a new believer, and just needs to grow, or if someone is just faking it, and has never met Christ? Only God knows for sure, but there are clues. A true believer has been to the Cross, and has seen the immensity of his sin, the offense he was to God, and understands how much God did to save him. He may not yet be free in Christ, but he loves Him, and wants to grow. A hypocrite, on the other hand, just imitates others. They want to be seen as "good", but they are living on their own power. 

The fruit of the Spirit is "Love, joy, peace, patience . . ." against which there is no law. As believers get to know Christ, and abide in him, they will begin to bear the fruit of a relationship with the living God. A piece of plastic fruit looks good, but has no nutritional value. So it is with those who don't know Christ. Jesus called that crowd "Whitewashed graves". They love the praise of men, but lack humility. None of the character of Christ is theirs. They don't know Him. 

Of course, no one is exempt from the flesh. When trouble comes, our first instinct many times is to "take the bull by the horns" and work it out on our own. I think we all know how well this works. It doesn't work at all. A crisis is the opportunity to trust Christ. We can encourage those weak in the faith, letting them know that "This light, temporary, affliction, is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond comparison" (2 Corinthians 4:16). It won't last forever. But the fruit of leaning on Christ will remain forever. 

Offended Missionary

 "When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came in, unto thee, into thine holy temple" Jonah 2:7

I suppose a crisis reveals our true hearts more than any other life event. The Ninevites had done all sorts of evil things to the Israelites. So when Jonah heard that the LORD would soon destroy them, he was happy about it. When the LORD told him to go preach to Ninevah, he runs away. In his heart, he is afraid that if he preaches to them, they might repent, and God would relent of the judgment on them. But God didn't let him get away with it. He causes a great storm upon the sea and Jonah finds himself in the belly of a great fish. In the midst of the fish, he prays, and soon finds himself in Ninevah. 

How are we with those who have offended us? Do we sometimes say, "I will forgive, of course, but I will not forget"? Do we pray for them with open hearts, or do we inwardly bid them good riddance? God's Word is clear: Love your enemies, bless them. Do we? It seems to me that far more common is cold heart towards those who have done us wrong. May I suggest that if this is you, my friend, that you do not yet know Him as you ought? "Beloved, let us love one another. For love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God, and knows God. But he who does not love, does not know God, for God is love" I John 4:7-8. 

No, love for those who have used us, abused us, scorned us or ignored us is not from the world. This sort of love comes only from knowing God. When we know Him, we know love for our enemies. When we know God, all of Him extends His heart to those who are lost. Our forgiveness is more than just words, for we love with the love of God, who, while yet we were His enemies, died for us. I pray that God gives us the grace of repentance, so that our hearts can be one with Him. Mercy must triumph over judgment. 

The mystery of the cross

 "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." Galatians 6:4

I'd imagine that Paul's message of grace was eagerly received by those in the province of Galatia. He really meant it when he said, "I would have you know nothing save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." But then Paul leaves, and sure enough some "teachers" come in to rob them of their liberty in Christ. They say that Paul is too simplistic. Christ alone cannot be your full confidence. You need to observe fasts and rituals. Or circumcision. Etc. But Paul insists that they must have been bewitched if they have been taken in by these teachers. No, Christ is enough. End of discussion. 

My struggle is how to interact with those who have not shared in the glory of the cross. Like the Galatians, they don't believe that the Gospel really is as simple as this. When their faith is tested by unfavorable circumstances, they do not rely on Him, casting their cares on Him as He asked us to do. They do NOT consider it "all a joy" when they fall into various tribulations. I can share what I know, but it's as if some giant blanket is covering them, holding them back from seeing the truth. 

I have no answers here. It is painful to see the ones I love suffer. Truth is, we all suffer. However, if we see the "Glory to be revealed in us", we know that this "present tribulation is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory". And we can be happy, even when things are not looking too bright.