Choices May 11, 2008

Choices

 

Phil. 1:29 “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for Him..”

James 1:2-4 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

For it has been “granted”, granted?? That means it is a privilege to suffer on God’s behalf. He chooses me because He sees I am worthy of this!!  

How shocking it is to realize that suffering for Christ is as much a part of being a part of Christ as it is to believe in Him!! I often have I suffered, endured trials, and thought for sure it is because God just isn’t so interested in me anymore. How have I missed this all these years, that when I suffer trials, He is really testing me to develop character in me? Do I really want to arrive Heaven, without being fully prepared? 

But not only to suffer, but to do so with pure joy!! I am not speaking of those BIG things, but how about those small, irritating daily things, that have the tendency to push us over the edge. Those things that are before us every day. The person you work with, live with, rebellious, disobedient children. The things that “don’t go away”. What do we do with those things? 

But wait a minute, I see another phrase in that verse in James 1, “the testing of your faith develops perseverance must finish its work so that you may mature and complete, not lacking anything.”  So faith comes into all of this. Why faith? What does faith have to do with the nagging daily trials? It is to develop character. We must be mature and complete. Without faith, we cannot grow into maturity. Faith in God to know He sees the beginning and the end. He sees it all, He has walked the road, He knows me better than I do myself. 

Does this mean it is easy? No, there will be pain, frustration and those moments of wanting “throw in the towel” but we don’t. We press on! There will be tears, and solitude, and even more, being misunderstood and feeling so alone. But God sees it all!! He cares. Jesus knows all about all of this…He walked the Road!!

1 Peter 1:9 “that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold that perishes though it is proved by fire, may be found unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ..”

I love the illustration of how the refiner of gold knows when the gold is pure, and that is when he sees his image in the gold, then he knows he can turn off the fire. So it is with us, God keeps us in the fire until He sees His image in me and you. 

So why do I call this choices? We have many choices to make while our faith is being tested. For myself, I can choose to be joyful or angry. I can choose to leave the fire of purification, or stay and take the heat until He sees His image in me. But there is another choice, if it is people that are the cause of our trials, we can choose to love them in spite of the situation, or we can reject them or hate them. We know hating them will  not shine God’s image from our lives.

If you have not yet, chosen Jesus for your life, do so today. If you are in the middle of a trial, let’s choose to be joyful, and see this as an opportunity to serve Jesus!! He grants us this privilege! He wants me and you to be complete in our life with Him. He wants us to be mature, and ready for Heaven and life with Him eternally when He calls us home. 

 

Until next time

Barb