The pathway to emotional healing and freedom to enjoy your life is not
necessarily easy. However, pressing forward toward freedom is definitely better
than staying in bondage:
so, since
Christ suffered in the flesh for us, for you,arm yourselves with the same
thought and purpose [patiently to suffer rather than fail to please God]. For
whoever has suffered in the flesh [having the mind of Christ] is done with
[intentional] sin [has stopped pleasing himself and the world, and pleases
God].
So that he can no longer spend the rest of his natural life living by
[his] human appetites and desires, but [he lives] for what God wills. (1 Peter
4:1-2)
Careful study of this Scripture passage reveals that we need to arm
ourselves with proper thoughts such as:I would prefer to suffer with Christ in
order to do right, than to remain in bondage to sin.
Having the correct mindset is important to victory. When I first
realized that Jesus could and desired to set me free, I wanted to have that
freedom, but my attitude was, "I will not suffer anymore; I have suffered
enough, and I will not submit to anything that even remotely resembles emotional
pain." The
Holy Spirit led me to several scripture passages that helped me realize
I had a wrong mindset and needed to prepare myself or arm myself with right
thinking. I began to think this way:I do not want to suffer anymore, but I will
do so rather than stay in bondage. As long as I am in bondage, I am suffering
anyway, but it is a type of suffering that has no end. If I am willing to let
Jesus lead me through whatever I must go through in order to be free, it may
hurt for a while, but at least it will be a suffering that leads to victory, to
a new life liberated from emotional pain.
A good
example is physical fitness. If my body were terribly out of shape due to bad
eating habits and a lack of exercise, I would be suffering because I would be tired
and feel bad all the time. As long as I did nothing about my condition, the
suffering would just continue day after day. If I decided to get in shape, I
would start to exercise, choose the right foods, and avoid the wrong ones.
For a period of time, I would suffer from sore muscles. My body might
throw a fit if I did not give it certain addictive foods that it was used to.
That is a type of suffering. I would need to redirect some of my time to allow
for exercise, and that might produce a certain type of suffering because I
would need to make wise choices and not emotional choices.
We can see by this example that in order to be free from the senseless
suffering that is produced by
being physically unfit, a person must suffer in another way, but it is a
type of suffering that leads to victory and ultimately brings an end to
suffering.
Right Suffering And Wrong Suffering
Meditating on the following scriptures reveals that we should choose by
faith to be joyful while we are going through difficult transitions, knowing
that because God loves us, even our "right suffering" will produce a
good end, which is, in this case, mature character:
Moreover [let us also be full of joy now!] let us exult and triumph in
our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and
affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance.
And endurance (fortitude) develops maturity of character (approved faith
and tried integrity). And character [of this sort] produces [the habit of]
joyful and confident hope of eternal salvation.
Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames
us, for God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit
Who has been given to us.
(Romans 5:3-5)
Because
of a wrong mindset, many people never mature to the point that they experience
joy in living. Maturity always includes stability. Without stability
There is a "right suffering" and a "wrong
suffering." The apostle Peter encouraged believers to be sure that they
did not suffer for wrongdoing, but that if they did suffer, it should be for
doing the right thing. In 1 Peter 3:14 he notes, "But... in case you
should suffer for the sake of righteousness, [you are] blessed."
In verse
16 he exhorts us to live in such a way that we make sure that our conscience is
entirely clear, and in verse 17 he says, "For [it is] better to suffer
[unjustly] for doing right, it that should be God's will, than to suffer
[justly] for doing wrong."This is an important area. Many people never
experience the joy of freedom because of a wrong mindset concerning suffering.
At some point in your Christian life, you may have heard that Jesus wants to
set you free from all your suffering, and that is true -He does. However, there
is a transition involved, and transition is never easy.
During childbirth, the part of the labor process known to be the most
difficult is called "transition." For thirty-three years I lived a
life of pain. When I finally discovered that Jesus wanted to free me from
suffering, I entered transition. I was being changed, transformed into His
original idea of me before I was marred by the world. I suffered for a few more
years, but in a different way. It was not a hopeless suffering but a suffering
that actually produced hope, because
These were not always big changes, but the Lord always kept me from
giving up. Just when I thought I could not stand the pain any longer, He would
come through with a special blessing that would let me know that He was there
all the time-watching over me.
The Refiner's Fire
If you understand that right suffering works like a refining fire, then
the following verses will have special meaning brings great comfort:
But who can endure the day of His coming? And who
can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire, like fullers' soap;
He will
sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and He will purify the priests, the
sons of Levi, and refine them like gold and silver, that they may offer to the
Lord offerings in righteousness. (Malachi 3:2-3)I would like to share with you
a story that I once heard which sheds light on this passage. In Europe a man
went into a goldsmith's shop and found some items he wished to buy. The entire
time he was inside the shop, he never saw the shopkeeper. In order to finalize
his purchases, he began to look for the proprietor, and as he did, he noticed
in the rear of the shop an open door that led outside. As he stood in the
doorway, he saw the shopkeeper (actually the
refiner) sitting over a fire upon which sat a huge pot. He would not
take his eyes off the simmering pot, even though the interested customer tried
to speak to him about buying some of his merchandise.
The customer asked if he could not leave what he was doing for a short
while to come inside and take care of the transaction. However, the refiner
said, "No." He stated that he could not leave the metal in the pot,
not even for one minute, explaining it this way: "It is very important that
this metal, which is gold, does not harden until all the impurities are out of
it. I intend for it to be pure gold. If the fire gets too hot, it could ruin
it, and if the fire gets too cool, the gold could harden with impurities still
in it."
He explained that he could not leave it, nor take his eyes off it at
all. He would need to sit over it until it was completely finished. The
customer asked when that would be, and the refiner replied, "I will know
it is finished when I can look in the metal and see my reflection very
clearly."
To me,
this is such a beautiful story because it lets me know that God is always
guarding my life and watching over the trials that come my way to make sure
they do not become too intense. But He also makes sure there is enough pressure
to keep doing a work in me. In 1 Corinthians 10:13 Paul says that God will
never allow more to come upon us than we can bear, but with every temptation He
will also provide a way out. We can trust God not to expect us to
Believe me, God knows what you are capable of bearing even more than you
do. Trust Him, and He will bring you through the refining process so that you
emerge as pure gold.
Press On Toward The Goal
It will
be easier to endure right suffering if you understand that the refiner's fire
is a lifelong process. Realizing this truth, the apostle Paul wrote: "Not
that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I
press on to lay hold of (grasp)and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus . .
. has laid hold of me" (Philippians 3:12).
In his writings, Paul often likens the Christian life to a race:
Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but [only] one
receives the prize? So run [your race] that you may lay hold [of the prize]and
make it yours.
Now every athlete who goes into training conducts himself temperately
and restricts himself in all things. They do it to win a wreath that will soon
wither, but we [do it to receive a crown of eternal blessedness] that cannot
wither.
Therefore I do not run
uncertainly (without definite
But [like
a boxer] I buffet my body [handle it roughly, discipline it by hardships] and
subdue it, for fear that after proclaiming to others the Gospel and things
pertaining to it, I myself should become unfit [not stand the test, be
unapproved and rejected as a counterfeit]. (1 Corinthians 9:2427)Trust the
Lord, and He will bring you across the finish line. Be determined to press on
and to take hold of that for which Christ has taken hold of you. He took hold
of you to save you.
Your salvation included many benefits in this life-not just a home in
heaven when you die. Your eternal salvation began the day you were born again,
and it will never end. God took hold of you to restore to you what the enemy
had stolen from you, but you will need to be determined to have it back.
Do not be passive and expect victory to just fall on you. It does come
by the grace of God, and not by our works, but we must actively cooperate with
the Holy Spirit each step of the way.
In his book,The Great Lover's Manifesto,Dave Grant points out that we
never grow when things are easy. We waste away without effort. We human beings
are essentially lazy and always searching for the easy way, but in reality, we
need some tension in order to stretch and grow. We will not grow until we agree
that struggle benefits us, and
that struggle is good because it keeps us moving and alive. Paul said that he
"pressed on." His phrase indicated tension and struggle; it indicated
that the Christian walk is not easy.
In
Grant's book, he relates the following story: "A number of bees were taken
along on a flight into space in order to see how they would handle the
experience of weightlessness. In the weightless atmosphere they were able to
float in space without any effort. The report on the experiment was summed up
in these words: 'They enjoyed the ride, but they died'"(emphasis mine)
.15I agree 100 percent with Mr. Grant, who goes on to say that we seldom drift
into anything worthwhile.
Hang Tough In Hard Times!
In the following verses, the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk speaks of
hard times, which he calls "high places," and states that God had given
him hinds' feet to remain surefooted during those times:
Though the fig tree does not blossom and there is no fruit on the vines,
[though] the product of the olive fails and the fields yield no food, though
the flock is cut off from the fold and there are no cattle in the stalls,
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the [victorious] God of
my salvation!
The Lord God is my Strength, my
personal bravery, and my invincible army; He makes my feet like hinds' feet and
will make me to walk [not to stand still in terror, but to walk] and make
[spiritual] progress upon my high places [of trouble, suffering, or
responsibility]! (Habakkuk 3:1719)
The term hind refers to a certain kind of deer that is an agile mountain
climber. It can scale up what looks like a sheer cliff with no difficulty at
all, leaping from ledge to ledge with great ease. This surefootedness is God's
will for us, so that when hardship comes our way we are not intimidated nor
frightened at all.
To be truly victorious, we must grow to the place where we are not
afraid of hard times but are actually challenged by them. In these verses,The
Amplified Bible refers to these "high places" as "trouble,
suffering, or responsibility." This is because it is during these times
that we grow.
If you
look back over your life, you will see that you never grow during easy times;
you grow during hard times. During the easy times that come, you are able to
enjoy what you have gained during the hard times. This is really a life
principle; it is just the way it works. You work all week, then you receive
your paycheck and enjoy your weekend off. You exercise, eat right, and take
good care of yourself, then you enjoy a healthy body. You clean your house, or
basement, or garage, and then you enjoy your neat,
clean surroundings each time you walk through them. I am reminded of
Hebrews 12:11: "For the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems
grievous and painful; but afterwards it yields a peaceable fruit of
righteousness to those who have been trained by it."
The person who serves God from love for Him does what is right because
it is right. He does not do it to inherit any good, though in the end the
blessing will not fail him. Seek to be whole in order to give the Lord glory,
and in the end, you will enjoy being glorious.
No comments:
Post a Comment