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
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 “
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.
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
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