Tag Archives: suffering

Life Worth Living

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Black recliner (arm chair)

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In my wickedness I am lost.  Even my breathing is labored with the weight of a guilty conscience.  Sighing consumes my days.  And there is never any rest.  Even my joints complain with stiffness because of my evil ways.  I seek release but find none.

But in the days when the Spirit of God thrives among the fibers of my body, I am found and strong.  It can be said that when we are weak, we are pitifully weak.  When we are strong there is no longer any comparison to man.  For the Spirit of God is not weak in any measure.  So the measure of filling we allow becomes a strength that has no end.  My body rests in peace.  My mind thinks clearly.  My speech is slowed and calculated, no longer frantic to explain what I believe.  Sleep is sound and joyful.  And a silent revelry reigns in my soul.

By the Spirit of God we become a union of God and man.  We no longer desire the things of the flesh.  This is why it was written, “Live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”

Though you already know this, isn’t it wise and good to remind each other of these things?  Iron sharpens iron.  What good is a dull axe?

Refinement Requires All!

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cigarette

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What have I learned from the past month?  I’ve learned that if I wish to obey the Lord in certain issues it will take everything I am.

I believed I was told to accomplish a personal refinement.  Through a week and a half I allowed myself to endure for His name sake.  For the next three weeks I suffered under horrible desires.  I watched curiously as my mind and body screamed to partake, lest this refinement became more powerful than they.  Anger, confusion, the seeds of hatred germinating, and complete frustration (almost to the point where I couldn’t control the sound  of my voice betraying my inner turmoil.)

Then finally came the wall.  Continue to endure under this pressure and become an angry man, or relent for a while and regroup later.  I have chosen the latter for a while.  So what have I learned?   Did I give up only to never try again?  Am I under a curse because I wasn’t prepared to endure?  I am compelled by the Love of God in Christ Jesus to say “no.”

I have learned that, while salvation by the blood of Jesus is offered to all who believe, there is an “extra” offered to every believer.  The cost of this “extra” is enormous!  And it will cost us the following:  Dedication toward accomplishment regardless the experience.  Continual honor given to the One who calls us toward what is Holy.  A willingness to suffer beyond our perceived ability to endure.  And, quite possibly, a willingness to abandon our present life’s duties for a season.

I said to myself, “You have what it takes.  Why are you faltering like this?”  But what was I to do with the building anxiety, anger, frustration, and lack of will?  I consider that I might have succeeded if I had just pushed one more day.  But what I have done is what I did. 

The glory due those who wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb is well earned.  Those who over come will be blessed with honor, as the One who bestows this honor is blessed with eternal joy.  Yet, there will be few who find that honor bestowed upon them.  Why?  precisely for the experience I related above.  The battle is harsh and demanding.  And I now know how horrible the battle can become.  And after typing that last sentence, I laugh at myself.  What do I know of suffering for the sake of His Holy Name?

Father in Heaven; Holy Father of Life and life,  I give you praise for the intense place of testing You have created for man.  And I give You Glory for the Perfection of Your Holy Son!  What wonders and marvelous power He embodies!  That He should suffer without fault in this place where I now walk (or crawl on my belly).  You are Glorious!  And Your way is above us as the farthest star in the universe is removed from the chair I now sit in.  May Your Holy Will be done forever!  You Are God!

By His Grace.

Legacy

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We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses as we walk in “The Way” of God.  Often we will feel as though we are the only one who is suffering.  But we know that’s not true.  It seems like it sometimes.  The call to service before the Most High God has not changed.  And in every age that has come and gone, holy men encouraged each other to stand strong in the face of attack by the world we live in:

“. . .There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning;  they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.” (Hebrews 11)

We face all kinds of trials as we serve the Lord of Glory.  And this is as it should be.  It is the working out of our faith that produces the fruit God is looking for.   Encourage one another to leap into the war.  We war against sin in our own lives.  We war against becoming cowards.  We war in our prayer time as we struggle with the call of “things undone”.  We war against the love of money, fame, being alone, and more than I’d care to mention. 

Though we encounter all kinds of trials which appear to stand against us, we must remember that we don’t serve God alone.  Many have gone before us to lead the way through.  And even now, there are millions actively leading the way through.  I will not bow to the pressures to forsake the trials I am asked to endure.  By the Grace of God in Christ Jesus I will stand.  He will bring me into a place of testimony for His name’s sake, and for the sake of the faith of my brothers and sisters. 

How is this too much to ask?  Shall we abandon our eternal family as they encounter their own trials and remain steady?  His Spirit calls for His children to stand strong.  So, raised eyebrows here, stand strong!   My brothers and sisters, leave a legacy of faith!  Let it be spoken of you, that you endured for Him.  Encourage those yet not born.  Leave a legacy of faithfulness and contentment in the face of your trials.

By His Grace.