Fruit in Your Affliction

Infirmity. Affliction. Persecution. Distress. Reproach. It seems to me that the writer of these words would be a man whose God had completely forsaken him. Yet these words were penned by arguably the second greatest man in the Bible, the apostle Paul. How is it that God would let His most faithful servant go through so many trials and tribulations? A man who wrote thirteen books in God’s word, preached the gospel to a countless number of people, and went all over his modern day world spreading the news of salvation for all; how could he be subject to the things that he had to endure?

As children of God, I think that sometimes we become so accustomed to the benefits of walking a Christian life that when trouble comes we quickly began whining at God for “letting” us go through hard times. On top of being children of God we are Americans who are wrapped with having beautiful homes, cool cars, nice clothes, and expensive toys. These factors have given us a sense of entitlement that we deserve an easy life, and, while the point of this post is not to hammer in your skull the old quote “life isn’t fair,” guess what? It’s not. But since we are going to have to walk through hard times let’s move on and figure out how to make the most of it.

Have you ever heard the story of Joseph? He was sold into slavery as a young man by his brothers, lied on by his master’s wife, thrown into prison, and on top of that he helped a man get out of prison and the guy completely forgot about him. I’m pretty sure that Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” wasn’t at the top of his Myspace playlist. There were surely several times that he felt like he was being treated unfairly by God. He offered his sacrifices, he obeyed his parents, he obeyed the laws that God had established for His people, and he even resisted the toughest temptation that any man could ever face. Why would God treat his child like this? Because he had a plan.

Joseph would eventually get out of prison and be named the second in command over all of Egypt. And through this he would lead the Egypt and several surrounding nations through a seven year long famine. Throughout his life Joseph had to endure some of the loneliest and darkest times a human could ever face, but when it came time to name his second son he chose a very interesting name.

Genesis 41:52

And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.

How incredible! Fruitful in the “Land of Affliction.” Is that really possible? Most of the times we simply want to make it through our trials and live to fight another day, but Joseph said that not only did God get him through his hard times; He caused him to bear fruit while he was going through them.

God does not let us walk through hard times to break us; He lets us walk through those things so that he can shape our lives into the person that He wants us to be. God promised us that He will never leave us, or forsake us. On top of that he said He would never put on us more than we can handle. It’s whenever we are at our lowest point that God is able to pick us up and give us His perfect strength.

II Corinthians 12:9-10

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

Paul said that he “takes pleasure” in the hard times. Paul was able to understand that the hard times drew him closer to the one that he loved the most. They weren’t to punish him or separate him from God; they drew him closer, and gave him the strength to not only fight through his trials but also to bear fruit.

My father says life is summed up by three stages: You’re in a trial, you’re coming out of a trial, or you are going into a trial. Rather pessimistic don’t you think? As we can see from Paul, Joseph, or even Job, hard times are a part of life. It’s how you respond to them that is going to dictate whether or not they break you. So never curse your trial; let it build you up into the man or woman of God that He wants you to be. . .

food for thought: Psalm 119:81-88

quote of the post: “Determination gives you the resolve to keep going in spite of

roadblocks that lay before you.” – Dennis Waitley

book recommendation: This Present Darkness – Frank Peretti

Just Do It

At the end of I Chronicles 28 we find an incredible “charge” to Solomon by his father David. It reads.

And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.

In my nearly twenty years of living on this earth I have learned many things. Don’t touch the stove when it’s hot, keep your fingers away from car doors, and now I have graduated on to learning that my instructors are ALWAYS right, or, the thing I wished I had learned a long time ago, sometimes it’s probably best just to keep your mouth shut. But one of the most interesting things that I have found is how we humans are such skilled creatures at procrastination.

I am as guilty, if not more guilty, than anyone else when it comes to this dreaded topic. How much easier is it to just put off homework for tomorrow rather than do it now? And when tomorrow becomes today put it off again? Or how many years have we set up resolutions and by mid-January we find ourselves in the same place that we were when we started? It’s so easy to be gung-ho about projects when they begin, but as the weeks wear on we find ourselves less enamored with the task. I have a great example.

A few years ago my dad suggested to several of us in the youth group that we should start up our own blog. The first few months went great, but when the newness of the project wore off I quickly found myself finding other things to do. So now there is a three year gap in between my last two posts. Three years! Surely out of three years I had enough time to pull out a pen and write something that would encourage someone. But that is the way we are, and always will be unless we find a way to get out of the rut that we live in.

Sure it’s hard to lose that weight, get on the Bible reading program, read those twenty good books, or start that diet. But who wants to live their life and then look back and think of all the things that you could have done? Why not just do it? There is definitely going to be times of sacrifice and times where you really don’t feel like doing whatever “it” is, but sticking to a task through its completion is incredibly gratifying.

The task that Solomon was about to undertake would be the greatest in Israel’s history. The construction of the temple would take around seven years until it was finally complete. Surely sometime during those seven years discouraging setbacks occurred, and Solomon would wonder if all the work and time spent on it was really worth it. Yet when the temple was complete it was the most beautiful house of worship ever built.

It is interesting to note that, despite the magnitude of the project, Solomon receives only four verses of encouragement. There was no laying on of hands or parade for him. Furthermore he wasn’t slain in the Spirit, he didn’t take a few laps around the church, and he wasn’t even prayed for by a big name preacher at a big time conference. All he received was good advice. Wow. . .

How many times have we robbed ourselves of awesome spiritual blessings because we were waiting for some super spiritual experience? I’m guilty. I have said to myself several times that I am going to kick it up a notch for God after this camp or after a great altar service. But all I needed to do was just make up in my mind that I was going to do it no matter what. All we have to do is “just do it.” You don’t need a trans-earthly experience to begin your journey to knowing God more. It just takes a determination in your heart and the decision to do it.

As David said to Solomon, “Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.” God is with you. Who else do you need? We make it so hard on ourselves to get the thing that we need the most when God is saying, “if you really want it, just do it.” There is no secret formula, you just have to make up your mind and God will give you the strength for the journey.

You are never going to find a convenient time to go all out for God. Remember this; God did not call you to a life of convenience. He called you to a life of daily crucifying your will so that you can be in His perfect will. In Acts 24 we find Paul presenting the Gospel to Felix, but Felix says, “Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season I will call for thee.” That call never came. Living for God is tough and going all out for God even tougher. But we have God’s promise that he will never leave us or forsake us. Your strength is in Christ. Just Do It!

food for thought: Ecclesiastes 9:10
book: Don’t Waste Your Life – John Piper
quote of the post:
The best way to get something done is to begin. ~Author Unknown

Christ's Love

Love. . . Modern day society has taken this beautiful thing and so perverted it to where no one really knows what love is anymore. The only pure love that we can find as a model for our own lives is the love of Christ. A love that would drive him to a cross to die for someone who did not even yet exist. Are you kidding me???


A love to this degree in today's world is very hard to find. Yet in John 15:12 we find that we are commanded to "love one another as I have loved you" and five verses down we find the same command. How can we be expected to show a love in the same fashion that God showed for us? This seems to be impossible, but it is very obvious that Jesus does expect us, rather he "commands" us, to love just as he did. When you look throughout the Bible you will find that God shows us what his love is in I Corinthians 13:4-8.


Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails;


This is the love that Christ longs for us to have in our lives. A love that does not seek to take advantage of others, or is only there in times when it is convenient. This love places self aside and puts all focus on others. Without this love, as it says in I Corinthians 13, our life is as nothing. Even if we have the gift of prophecy, or we have all knowledge, or have the faith to remove a mountain the Bible still says that we are nothing. This is the one thing that we must strive to have in our own lives because without it we are nothing.


Think on the love of Christ for a moment. Can you imagine being beaten with rods, being spit on, scourged with a terrible whip, and then nailed to a cross? And Jesus did that for those who would deny him and even for those who carried out his punishment. Could you even do that for the one who you love most in your life? It is very easy to be the hero and say "of course I would do that," but when you really think about the things the Jesus went through at Calvary it becomes harder and harder to be so dogmatic in that assumption.


I have really felt God dealing with me about his love lately. It seems like every time I kneel to pray that I have this desire for God to let HIS love shine through my life. I have been praying for those who are lost, but God keeps putting it in my heart to just love them as He does. There is no way that I could ever fully comprehend Christ's love, but I believe that God is helping me to have His love in my life. Every time I let my mind rest on it I get overwhelmed with the beauty of his pure love. And here I am, a sorry human, "commanded" by Christ to love as he did.


A Christlike love will do more than any other single thing in an effort to reach a lost soul. However, this love does not come without a burden. II Corinthians 5:14 says that the love of Christ "constraineth" us. This love has to consume us, and we must let it shine through us in every part of our lives. Love your enemies, love your neighbors, love your coworkers, let Christ's love rule your life. Remember that if you can give someone just a model of Christ's love, how much more they are going to want the genuine thing. In a world that doesn't show a caring and compassionate love, Christ love is the tool that can bring the lost sinner to the beauty of Calvary and salvation. Without the love of Christ in our life evangelism is non-existent.


"Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God. . ." Ephesians 5:1-2


food for thought: Romans 8:35-39
book recommendation: Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris
quote of the post:
O the deep, deep love of Jesus, vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!
Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me!
Underneath me, all around me, is the current of Thy love
Leading onward, leading homeward to Thy glorious rest above!

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, spread His praise from shore to shore!
How He loveth, ever loveth, changeth never, nevermore!
How He watches o'er His loved ones, died to call them all His own;
How for them He intercedeth, watcheth o'er them from the throne!

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, love of every love the best!
'Tis an ocean vast of blessing, 'tis a haven sweet of rest!
O the deep, deep love of Jesus, 'tis a heaven of heavens to me;
And it lifts me up to glory, for it lifts me up to Thee!

Samuel Trevor Francis