"But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold" (Job 23:10, NIV).
"Blessed is the one whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty" (Job 5:17, NIV).
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze" (Isa. 43:2, NIV).
"... All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come" (Job 14:14, NIV).
"Though he slay me, yet I will hope in him" (Job 13:15, NIV
"If we are to enter God's kingdom, we must pass through many troubles" (Acts 14:22, CEB).
"Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings..." (Rom. 5:3, NIV).
"No matter how deep our darkness, he is deeper still." --Corrie ten Boom
Reality 101 is about adjusting to the curve balls thrown at us by our adversary Satan, as we adjust to the real world with all its pitfalls, known as OJT of real life. "He speaks to [us] in [our] affliction," (cf. Job 36:15). As part of the divine curriculum, it has been granted unto us to suffer for His sake. We have no right to ask God "Why?" because "He is too deep to explain Himself, too wise to make a mistake, and too kind to be cruel"--we must accept it all on faith that God knows what's best. People are always suing for pain and suffering, but Christians must grin and bear it as a given in life (not that we are Stoics who see it as fate from an impersonal force), but making the most of it and learning from the experiences; then we can proudly say, "Been there, done that!"
We all must go through some kind of school of hard knocks and learn from our mistakes. If you haven't made a mistake, it's been said, you haven't made anything! The best way to learn is through adversity, which is the only way to build character. So lay out the welcome mat and apply your experience to comfort others in their affliction. As a consolation, remember that Christ Himself learned obedience by what He suffered (cf. Heb. 5:8)!
What is going on as we progress in our sanctification? God will indeed finish what He has started and isn't finished with us yet, as we are always "works in progress" (cf. Phil. 1:6). The defining characteristic of Christianity that makes its practice unique is that we find meaning in suffering--it's all done through the Father-filtered hands of God and has a purpose. In psychology and religion, there is no meaning to suffering--it's seen as a distraction and unnecessary element of life, and ideally should be eliminated. (Note that Buddha said that "life is suffering").
But there is good stress as well as negative stress (and no one escapes life stress-free!) and it builds character; we shouldn't pray for a life that's stress-free and easy then, but a character that can withstand anything God can throw at us by way of trial and tribulation, this is the stress that no one can avoid and is part of life--can we expect good from God only and not evil? But whatever evil happens, God means it for our good (cf. Gen. 50:20; Rom. 8:28)!
For Christ didn't even exempt Himself from trials and was honest enough to warn us we'd have them, and our crosses pale in comparison to His, who doesn't ask us to do anything He didn't do. Trials, temptations, tribulations, suffering, troubles, and adversity, and discipline are inevitable. It has been said that experience is not what you've been through or what has happened to you, but in you and what you do with it! As an illustration of what God is doing in our lives picture a sculptor who sees a piece of marble and starts work on it and is asked how he can fashion a horse out of it: just by chipping away everything that doesn't look like a horse! God must take away everything that doesn't look like Jesus because we're the icons of God!
We signed up for a crucible when we got saved and it comes with the territory as we enrolled in the school of Christ. But the comforting factor in our suffering is that it's done in love and is not meaningless; in fact, we'll thank God someday for His wisdom. God reserves the right to micromanage our lives at will and does so without our consultation. Every day of our lives has been mapped out by God in Providence and He does so with the motive of love and His glory--for we exist to bring glory to Him (cf, Psalm 31:15; 139:16; Isaiah 43:7).
As a word of encouragement, we should bear in mind that God is always with us, so we are never alone; God is on our side so we cannot lose, and God believes in us so we have purpose and meaning, for God has a purpose for everything! It was proven by Dr. Viktor Frankl, a Viennese Jewish psychiatrist who spent years in a Nazi concentration camp at Dachau, that when we see purpose and meaning in our suffering that we can endure nearly anything, even a POW, or concentration camp (because God is with us)! We don't have to thank God for these troubles, but should praise Him for the opportunities they bring to glorify Him, always remembering that no cross means no crown!
In short, crucibles are necessary because the same sun melts the butter hardens the clay (we either become bitter or better); we must never wonder why bad things happen to good people because no one is good--we should wonder why good things happen to bad people!
CAVEAT: DON'T GET A MARTYR COMPLEX, (WE AREN'T SAVED BY MARTYRDOM!) AND THINK THAT THE MORE YOU SUFFER, THE HOLIER OR MORE RIGHTEOUS YOU ARE, CHRIST WANTS US TO LIVE FOR HIM AS "LIVING SACRIFICES' (CF. ROM. 12:1)!
In conclusion, William Kirk Kilpatrick, psychologist, and educator, said the test of a philosophy is not what it says about the pains it can handle, but the ones it cannot. Soli Deo Gloria!
"Blessed is the one whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty" (Job 5:17, NIV).
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze" (Isa. 43:2, NIV).
"... All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come" (Job 14:14, NIV).
"Though he slay me, yet I will hope in him" (Job 13:15, NIV
"If we are to enter God's kingdom, we must pass through many troubles" (Acts 14:22, CEB).
"Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings..." (Rom. 5:3, NIV).
"No matter how deep our darkness, he is deeper still." --Corrie ten Boom
Reality 101 is about adjusting to the curve balls thrown at us by our adversary Satan, as we adjust to the real world with all its pitfalls, known as OJT of real life. "He speaks to [us] in [our] affliction," (cf. Job 36:15). As part of the divine curriculum, it has been granted unto us to suffer for His sake. We have no right to ask God "Why?" because "He is too deep to explain Himself, too wise to make a mistake, and too kind to be cruel"--we must accept it all on faith that God knows what's best. People are always suing for pain and suffering, but Christians must grin and bear it as a given in life (not that we are Stoics who see it as fate from an impersonal force), but making the most of it and learning from the experiences; then we can proudly say, "Been there, done that!"
We all must go through some kind of school of hard knocks and learn from our mistakes. If you haven't made a mistake, it's been said, you haven't made anything! The best way to learn is through adversity, which is the only way to build character. So lay out the welcome mat and apply your experience to comfort others in their affliction. As a consolation, remember that Christ Himself learned obedience by what He suffered (cf. Heb. 5:8)!
What is going on as we progress in our sanctification? God will indeed finish what He has started and isn't finished with us yet, as we are always "works in progress" (cf. Phil. 1:6). The defining characteristic of Christianity that makes its practice unique is that we find meaning in suffering--it's all done through the Father-filtered hands of God and has a purpose. In psychology and religion, there is no meaning to suffering--it's seen as a distraction and unnecessary element of life, and ideally should be eliminated. (Note that Buddha said that "life is suffering").
But there is good stress as well as negative stress (and no one escapes life stress-free!) and it builds character; we shouldn't pray for a life that's stress-free and easy then, but a character that can withstand anything God can throw at us by way of trial and tribulation, this is the stress that no one can avoid and is part of life--can we expect good from God only and not evil? But whatever evil happens, God means it for our good (cf. Gen. 50:20; Rom. 8:28)!
For Christ didn't even exempt Himself from trials and was honest enough to warn us we'd have them, and our crosses pale in comparison to His, who doesn't ask us to do anything He didn't do. Trials, temptations, tribulations, suffering, troubles, and adversity, and discipline are inevitable. It has been said that experience is not what you've been through or what has happened to you, but in you and what you do with it! As an illustration of what God is doing in our lives picture a sculptor who sees a piece of marble and starts work on it and is asked how he can fashion a horse out of it: just by chipping away everything that doesn't look like a horse! God must take away everything that doesn't look like Jesus because we're the icons of God!
We signed up for a crucible when we got saved and it comes with the territory as we enrolled in the school of Christ. But the comforting factor in our suffering is that it's done in love and is not meaningless; in fact, we'll thank God someday for His wisdom. God reserves the right to micromanage our lives at will and does so without our consultation. Every day of our lives has been mapped out by God in Providence and He does so with the motive of love and His glory--for we exist to bring glory to Him (cf, Psalm 31:15; 139:16; Isaiah 43:7).
As a word of encouragement, we should bear in mind that God is always with us, so we are never alone; God is on our side so we cannot lose, and God believes in us so we have purpose and meaning, for God has a purpose for everything! It was proven by Dr. Viktor Frankl, a Viennese Jewish psychiatrist who spent years in a Nazi concentration camp at Dachau, that when we see purpose and meaning in our suffering that we can endure nearly anything, even a POW, or concentration camp (because God is with us)! We don't have to thank God for these troubles, but should praise Him for the opportunities they bring to glorify Him, always remembering that no cross means no crown!
In short, crucibles are necessary because the same sun melts the butter hardens the clay (we either become bitter or better); we must never wonder why bad things happen to good people because no one is good--we should wonder why good things happen to bad people!
CAVEAT: DON'T GET A MARTYR COMPLEX, (WE AREN'T SAVED BY MARTYRDOM!) AND THINK THAT THE MORE YOU SUFFER, THE HOLIER OR MORE RIGHTEOUS YOU ARE, CHRIST WANTS US TO LIVE FOR HIM AS "LIVING SACRIFICES' (CF. ROM. 12:1)!
In conclusion, William Kirk Kilpatrick, psychologist, and educator, said the test of a philosophy is not what it says about the pains it can handle, but the ones it cannot. Soli Deo Gloria!
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