(As I was pondering some things today about the struggles in this life I came upon these thoughts shared by another and in them found some very wonderful answers. I hope you will be blessed also. God bless mj)
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As I’d been looking for some answers to some specific “dilemmas” I was seeing in my life, I was refreshed once again by the glorious truth of Christ IN me, my Hope… I was reminded again that the pain and struggles I encounter are for my refining, not something to be avoided or skirted or resented. They are my friends and like Paul said, I too am meant to “delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties” (2Cor. 12:10). Delight!
I was thinking about what my expectations for life were and I thought of a number of things that God HAS NOT promised:
*an easy time
*no pressures
*no confusing situations
*no crises
*no difficulties
*painless living
*no trials, struggles, testings, temptations
*a method to… a procedure for anything immediate
*understanding explanations why
*comfortable living
*control over circumstances
*steady emotions all the time
BUT… what He HAS promised us is the Life and Spirit of His Son Jesus! He promised us that His Spirit would live inside of us to counsel us, instruct us, lead us, teach us, guide us, and fill us. He has made FAR MORE provision and done a MUCH BETTER thing for us by giving us Jesus in all His Fullness. Far better HIM, alive, currently with us, moment by moment… far better than to give us promises of externals working out or immediate escape from every foe or difficulty. He has given us the BEST promise, that of Himself living in us. With THAT truth, we can face ANY situation, enemy, difficulty, heartache, failure or temptation. When God sent His Son, and His work of the atoning sacrifice was made for all time and eternity; when the way was finally won, for His Spirit to now come to earth to DWELL IN MAN; when that happened, every single problem over time, space, culture, century, language, race, circumstance of every kind was answered. With Jesus. HE is our answer. His Life, current. God with us, now. And NOTHING will stop that.
AND, if you don’t see that as clearly as you’d like, you WILL see it more and more as you understand that the above list of what we “don’t have” is EXACTLY what God often uses, as part of His plan for us to see Jesus more clearly. Do you see it? It is not cruel that we’re exposed to hard things. It is a NECESSITY, because we are prone as human beings to not put forth effort to find God and seek Him with all our hearts. We really do need “desperation situations” to drive us to GOD. Hallelujah, that He hasn’t let us wander. Those difficult moments or scenarios are GOOD.
Remember…
“If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that,who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or… [nothing] in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:32-39).
Here are a few more promises:
“…I am the way and the truth and the life” (Jn. 14:6).
“I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you… Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you” (Jn. 14:16-21).
“If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (Jn. 14:23).
“But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (Jn. 14:26-27).
“If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you” (Jn. 15:7).
“But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you” (Jn. 16:7).
“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you” (Jn. 16:13-15).
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (Jn. 16:33).
“I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws” (Eze. 36:25b-27).
“For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through Him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come” (2Cor 1:20-22).
“But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir” (Gal 4: 4-7).
It is a far better thing to fill our minds with the promises God has given and the Word from His heart that He has given us, than to fill our minds with “figuring out” how to solve or avoid our problems in life (which, by the way, we must STOP seeing as being problems—they are our friends). Expect and somehow even ask for the difficulties, the trials, the heartaches. But KNOW that every single one is for your good, not for your harm. Every single moment of your life is designed to be an avenue to KNOWING GOD BETTER. And the way that that is possible is because He has given you His Spirit so that you could find Jesus and His Way through in the midst of ANYTHING. THAT is FAR BETTER than if God had promised you “things” or guarantees that you wouldn’t suffer certain things, or methods to solving problems or “answers” or quick fixes. If THAT was what He gave, you would NEVER KNOW THE JOY OF FINDING HIM AS YOUR FATHER AND YOUR FRIEND. He intends on using the circumstances, difficulties and pressures of your life to get you to seek His Face and find His Life and fellowship with Him more deeply. Those times are meant to deepen your love and trust and faith in Him. You can know Him and discover The Life of His Spirit more and more. Remember how we’re changed? As we behold HIM, we are changed from one degree of glory to the next.
So with all of that, remember that His primary goal for us is not to:
*unravel the dilemma
*”solve” the problem
*take away the difficulty
*get us to understand “why”
His primary goal is that we would find HIM, turn to Him, be with Him, rest in Him, know Him in the midst of the difficulty, struggle, trial or temptation. We cannot assume that “this way” or “that way” is how the situation will be handled. We can’t meet things with certain expectations of how He’ll do something. That’s tree of knowledge. We dare not “force” a thing to be resolved or to “get out” of something. Rather, you CAN expect, every time, that if you draw near to Him, He’ll draw near to you. His Spirit lives in you and God has promised you, not to take stuff away, but rather to meet you—IF you’ll search for Him and find Him in the midst of your situations. Right???
He’s not thinking, “Boy, I hope this child of mine finds the way out of this mess.” And then we’re knocking our heads around trying to figure “it” out. Rather, just maybe He’s thinking, “I hope this child looks for Me, searches, and calls out for Me. Grabs hold of ME! Knows Me better as a result. Trusts Me. Gets closer to Me and understands my ways more deeply.”
He wants to place an impression of His life on our hearts in those times. Looking back, we’d know a little more of His faithfulness and love for us. We’d grow a little more in our gratitude and thankfulness. He really does want to fellowship with us, that our spirits would testify with His Spirit, “Oh, Father!!” We’d be His friend and lean on Him, live IN Him, abide in Him. What a wonderful inheritance He’s given us.