In Times Of Trouble
Posted by jerrywhite on Jun 16, 2010
God’s trusting child may say in times of trouble:
FIRST: He brought me here; it is by His will I am in this strait place: in that will I rest.
NEXT: He will keep me here in His love, and give me grace in this trial to behave as His child.
THEN: He will make the trial a blessing, teaching me the lessons He intends me to learn, and working in me the grace He means to bestow.
LAST: In His good time He can bring me out again—how and when He knows.
Say: I am here—
(1) By God’s appointment.
(2) In His keeping.
(3) Under His training.
(4) For His time.
Andrew Murray (1828-1917)
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And call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you; and you shall glorify me.
Psalm 50:15 (ESV)
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“Little daily worries are heaven-sent messengers to help you on the way home. What would you think of a sailor complaining of the wind that bears him homeward? A day spent among these worries is a day in God’s school. One might say that the way to make the best of them is to make the least of them.”
Andrew Bonar (1810-1892)
Heavenly Springs, 38
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The Lord’s Disturbance
Posted by jerrywhite on May 13, 2010
“We live in a very security-conscious age, so we endeavor to protect and insure ourselves against any unwelcome contingencies. Our affluent society makes abundant provision for us to enjoy our leisure and pleasures. We love to settle down in our fur-lined ruts and enjoy our comforts, which are only mildly disturbed by the tragic world around us. A good home, late-model car, pleasant recreations, happy holidays, congenial friends all tend to make heaven less attractive and allow the material to take the ascendancy over the spiritual.
But affluence and comfort often prove to be the foes of faith. Not that there is anything wrong with these things in themselves, for God ‘richly supplies us with all things to enjoy’ (1 Timothy 6:17). But unless we are on our guard, they become the chief end of life, and God and His Kingdom are gradually relegated to a minor place. To counteract that dangerous tendency, our loving Father at times disturbs the even tenor of our way. He is concerned that we should not miss the best in life.”
J. Oswald Sanders
Enjoying Intimacy with God, 96
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And as for what [seed] fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.
Luke 8:14 (ESV)
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If you are more occupied with all you have to do, with obtaining more of this world’s goods and enjoying its pleasures than you are with seeking the Lord Jesus, then you are in danger. Seeking the Lord first must be your daily choice and discipline, or else cares, riches and pleasures will quench your spiritual thirst and rob your days of God’s best.
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Beauty From Suffering
Posted by jerrywhite on Mar 18, 2010
“Pearls are made when a foreign object becomes caught inside of an oyster. The object wounds the oyster. The wound is enclosed and inescapable. In reaction to the wound, the oyster releases a substance called nacre that coats the intruding object. As thousands of layers of nacre coat the object, a pearl is formed. It takes seven to eight years—an oyster’s full lifespan—to form a pearl. Pearls are created by irritation.
You and I will face painful situations in life that are inescapable. They intrude upon us without invitation. We cannot run from them. They box us in. They are part of living in this fallen world. But they are also orchestrated by a sovereign God. For what reason? To work pearl into us.
At such times, we can either let the Lord Jesus turn our painful experience into a pearl, or we can become embittered and blame others, including God. In the latter case, the wound never heals. As Hebrews says, bitterness will spring up within you and defile many (12:15).
Allowing yourself to become bitter is like drinking poison and waiting for the person who hurt you to get sick. More Christians have been destroyed by bitterness than probably any other thing in existence.
On the contrary, those Christians who have allowed the Lord to work pearl into them, without becoming embittered, are precious in the kingdom of God. They emit the fragrance and beauty of Jesus Christ.”
Frank Viola
From Eternity to Here, 215-216
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Pure devotion to the Lord Jesus is a life of faith. With quiet confidence this kind of believer has given up all his rights to follow the Lord in all circumstances of life. They rest in the wonderful assurance that their Heavenly Father is in charge of all that comes to them, and that He intends to use it to further transform them to be beautiful in character like the Lord Jesus. Every painful experience is opportunity to know the Lord Jesus better.
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What Shall I Say?
Posted by jerrywhite on Oct 12, 2009
“When she [Sarah Edwards] heard that her husband Jonathan had died of a smallpox vaccination at the age of fifty-four, leaving her with ten children, she wrote to her daughter:
What shall I say? A holy and good God has covered us with a dark cloud. O that we may kiss the rod and lay our hands on our mouths! The Lord has done it. He has made me adore His goodness, that we had him so long. But my God lives; and He has my heart. O what a legacy my husband, and your father, has left us. We are all given to God; and there I am and love to be. “
John Piper
Brothers, We Are Not Professionals, 95
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And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”
In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
Job 1:21-22 (ESV)
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Can God, who gave His all for you, ever do wrong by you? Shall you accept the good from His hand and then charge Him with wrong doing when something does not go your way? Shall you thank Him when He blesses you with what you approve but not thank Him when it seems bad and painful for you? Is He worthy of praise only when His acts please you? His chosen way for you is always good and perfect and best. He is evermore worthy of thanksgiving and praise, even in the darkest times. Your trust in the dark so pleases your Heavenly Father. Your praise in pain honors Him.
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Necessary Trials
Posted by jerrywhite on Aug 24, 2009
Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations.
1 Peter 1:6 (KJV)
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“Three gracious words, ‘If need be.’ Not one of all my tears has been shed for nothing! Not one stroke of the rod has been unneeded, or that might have been spared.
Your heavenly Father loves you too much and too tenderly, to bestow harsher correction than your case requires. Is it loss of health or loss of wealth or loss of beloved friends? Be still, there was a ‘need be.’ We are no judges of what that ‘need be’ is; often though, in spite of aching hearts we are forced to exclaim, ‘Your judgments are greatly deep.’
God here pledges Himself, that there will not be one unnecessary thorn in the believer’s crown of suffering. No burden too heavy will be laid on him; and no sacrifice too great exacted from him. He will ‘temper the wind to the shorn lamb.’ Whenever the ‘need be’ has accomplished its end, then the rod is removed — the chastisement suspended — the furnace quenched.
‘If need be’! Oh, what a pillow on which to rest your aching head — that there is not a drop in all your bitter cup but what a God of love saw to be absolutely necessary.”
John MacDuff
Fill Me With Hope, September 16
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It is difficult to remember when we are in the midst of trial or tribulation that our heavenly Father has pre-measured it and appointed for us to go through it in order to transform us. It is equally hard to remember that the same love that blesses us richly has purposed the painful time as well. Our hearts must firmly grip two truths if we will live with peace and joy through necessary trials: Our sovereign Father orders our path; our loving Father measures our every burden. The Lord Jesus walked this way before us and understands what it means to learn obedience through suffering (Hebrews 5:8).
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