Trust and Obey- WEDNESDAY
Trust and Obey
by
Bryan Craig
WEDNESDAY- Trials to Treasure
I always hated the saying, "You're either coming out of a storm, you're in the middle of a storm or you're heading into a storm." It always sounded like a "Debbie Downer" statement of gloom and doom. I wanted to be positive and believe for a life of health, wealth and prosperity. However, after living nearly 50 years on earth, I must say that saying is accurate. We don't like pain and trials, and we will try to manage our lives in such a way as to minimize all the risk if we can.
Bruce Wilkinson, in Secrets of the Vine, says that God wants His children to bear fruit for the Kingdom, so He will intervene to bring pain into our lives to accomplish this. Rocky described the Exercise Room in The Journey to the Inner Chamber, as a place of pain for the purpose of turning the nutrition of God's Word into spiritual muscle. James, the brother of Jesus, said:
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4 NIV
I know most of you have heard the verse above so many times, and it never gets any easier to read. Joy in trials? It doesn't make sense in our fleshly minds. But for those of you who have matured in your faith, you would attest that it came through some fire. When I heard God calling me to join Influencers, I went into the chapel at my office and I sought clarity from the Lord. He guided me to Hebrews 12. I began to read, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses..." I looked back to Hebrews 11, which is all about great men and women of faith. I thought, "Lord, I want to be a great man of faith."
Then, I went back to Hebrews 12:2, where it described my Lord Jesus, who is the perfecter of my faith, who endured the cross, scorned its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. It went on, saying, "Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." It also talked about discipline, "Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?...Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness." (Hebrews 12:7,10)
In a very special, holy moment, I understood that the seven years of trials I had endured had great purpose. I realized I had been resisting God's calling on my life, trying to do everything on my terms. I finally surrendered, and in that moment, I wanted whatever God wanted. I gave God my 100% trust.
I felt like Influencer, emerging from the Inner Chamber, with a new set of shiny armor and a newfound mission. As I said in Monday's devotional, the months following were not easy, and even today, there have been challenges, but any time I'm feeling weak, I go back to that moment in the chapel and my Trust in the Lord gets me through.
If you are in a trial and wrestling with God right now, I pray you will surrender and trust Him. Only then will you find what you are looking for.