Wednesday, June 12, 2013
To Enjoy and to Endure
UV 780/10,000 To Enjoy and to Endure
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, and to those who are called according to His purpose.”
Romans 8 v 28
The believer always find both rhyme and reason in the things that happen to him or her. God is the prime mover of all that happens in our lives. He causes things to happen not to harm us but to prove us, to establish us, to make us mature, to strengthen us from within, to build our character, hope and faith. Events do not happen accidentally. There is a divine purpose and plan behind it all. What seems to be a terrible thing today will bring eternal glory to God. It will reveal the greatness of God in our lives. God sees the biggest picture of the entire universe and He designs it for our greater good. Like an expert weaver, He uses the shuttle of time and space to weave intricate alternate patterns of good, the blessings of knowing, loving and trusting Him and the overcoming of evil or the difficult, the troublesome in our lives.
The Father has decided ahead of time to build the character of His Son Jesus in each of us. We need to conform to the character of Jesus in order to share in His inheritance. It is inevitable that we suffer pain and sorrow and hardship in this life. He justifies or re-aligns us with the image of God again through this difficult process. He makes us worthy to receive the crown of life. There is no short cut to glory. But while we tread the path of suffering and difficulties, He walks along with us and warns us where we can trip. He picks us up when we fall. As a race we human beings tend to learn more from pain than from pleasure. I learnt more about the Lord and His purpose for my life from the trauma of surviving an assassination than from reading thousands of books or from hearing the learned.
God wants man to be God-like or more specifically Christ-like but man wants to be like God in terms of position and power. This accounts for the empire-building tendencies universally. It is such a privilege that we are called according to His purpose. His purpose is clearly explained in the Word. Therefore, we need to be grateful in good times and hopeful in bad times. Every kind of suffering we have undergone and will undergo is specifically calibrated to remove some dross in our faith or character or life or to reveal the greatness of God’s mercy and grace and to fulfil His will and plan for our lives. Whom He calls, He qualifies. He will give us the strength to endure difficulties and the grace to enjoy good times and blessings. We need wisdom to discern the times- whether it is a season to enjoy the favour of God or a season to endure the chastisement of suffering. If we are faithful, we will be consistent and as close to the Lord in both the good time and in the bad times. The content of our conversation with the Lord will change but not the fervour.
Prateep V Philip
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Thanks for all the lovely Word.
ReplyDeleteSamuel Sudhakar
It is really good to read your UV and I am touched and challenged by it.
ReplyDeleteJoo