Where Is God When I'm Hurting? Part 2
Dear Friends,
This week follows on from last week so you may find it helpful to read or re-read last week's post. I wrote how we can know, even during our trials, that God loves us, cares about us and is with us in our pain. You may remember that I shared about Jess' experience at the dentist, that it was painful to endure it, but that it was in her best interests that she did so.
God, our loving heavenly Father, allows us to sometimes go through difficult and painful circumstances because they are ultimately for our good. He uses these times to grow our faith in him, to deepen our trust, and to take us on in our Christian journey. For example, James says to his readers "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." James 1:2-4 (NLT).
Be encouraged that whatever difficult and painful time you are going through, whatever trial you are facing right now which shows no sign of ending no matter how much you pray, God will be using it for your good. Now, I know you may not want to hear that right now, but I do believe there will come a time, perhaps when you have come through the other side, that you will be able to see that God was able to bring something good from it. When you look to God and trust him, none of it will be wasted. Did you want to skim over the first verse you read? James tells us that we are to see the trial as an opportunity for great joy. Really James? Yes, really! But let me clarify what he means - James is not saying rejoice in the trial itself, the breakdown of a relationship, financial difficulties, redundancy, miscarriage, chronic illness etc., that would be crazy, but, we can, when we trust and lean on God, have joy in who our God is and all that he has done for us, all that he has given us and all that he is doing in us. It doesn't mean that we are in denial as we go through the trial, but it does mean that instead of being focused on the trial itself, we focus on God.
The experiences Paul writes about in his letters and that are written about him in the book of Acts have given me much encouragement in the past, and continue to do so today. He experienced persecution, torture, floggings, shipwrecks and imprisonment. In his second letter to the Corinthians he wrote about his thorn in the flesh, something that was giving him considerable torment and the cause of much personal suffering. We don't know exactly what his thorn in the flesh was, but not knowing what it was actually helps us to relate it to whatever we are suffering. This is what he wrote about it "Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 9 Each time he said, 'My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.' So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:8-10 (NLT)
In the midst of our difficulties, our hurts, God is right there and we have the wonderful promise that his grace is sufficient for us. It's God's grace that enables us to bear up under the weight of the trial so that we are not overcome by it. The truth is that God's power works best in our weakness and we can be strong because of God's power in us. I can testify to the truth of this, there have been numerous times in my life when God has worked despite my weaknesses or perhaps even because of them. When I acknowledge to him that I am too weak, that I have limitations, that I need to depend and rely on him, then I give him the opportunity and room to work through me. My illness is a constant reminder that I can do nothing without him and at the same time can do all that he has planned for me to do because he is working in me, giving me the strength I need. I find that incredible and so encouraging. The truth of those verses never gets old to me, every time I read them or think about them I get a thrill from deep within my very being, and within I shout "Amen! Hallelujah!"
I like the way The Message paraphrases these verses (v7-10): "Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, 'My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.' Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become."
Be encouraged dear friends, that God is with you when you're hurting, that he can and will use these times for good. Joseph was able to say to his brothers, years after the hurt they had caused him, "19 But Joseph replied, 'Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good.'" Genesis 50:19-20a (NLT).
Not only is God with us, we can also know the gift of his grace which enables us to withstand and overcome the trial.
To Think About:
Read Joseph's story in Genesis 37, 39-50 to learn how Joseph was able to say what he did in Genesis 50:19-20a. What can you learn from his example?
Can you look back over your life and see how God has taken what was a bad experience and has brought good from it?
Have you experienced a time when you have recognised that you are weak and need to rely on his strength to enable you to serve him? When you have experienced his grace working in you? What were the results of depending on him?
Vicki
This week follows on from last week so you may find it helpful to read or re-read last week's post. I wrote how we can know, even during our trials, that God loves us, cares about us and is with us in our pain. You may remember that I shared about Jess' experience at the dentist, that it was painful to endure it, but that it was in her best interests that she did so.
God, our loving heavenly Father, allows us to sometimes go through difficult and painful circumstances because they are ultimately for our good. He uses these times to grow our faith in him, to deepen our trust, and to take us on in our Christian journey. For example, James says to his readers "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." James 1:2-4 (NLT).
Be encouraged that whatever difficult and painful time you are going through, whatever trial you are facing right now which shows no sign of ending no matter how much you pray, God will be using it for your good. Now, I know you may not want to hear that right now, but I do believe there will come a time, perhaps when you have come through the other side, that you will be able to see that God was able to bring something good from it. When you look to God and trust him, none of it will be wasted. Did you want to skim over the first verse you read? James tells us that we are to see the trial as an opportunity for great joy. Really James? Yes, really! But let me clarify what he means - James is not saying rejoice in the trial itself, the breakdown of a relationship, financial difficulties, redundancy, miscarriage, chronic illness etc., that would be crazy, but, we can, when we trust and lean on God, have joy in who our God is and all that he has done for us, all that he has given us and all that he is doing in us. It doesn't mean that we are in denial as we go through the trial, but it does mean that instead of being focused on the trial itself, we focus on God.
The experiences Paul writes about in his letters and that are written about him in the book of Acts have given me much encouragement in the past, and continue to do so today. He experienced persecution, torture, floggings, shipwrecks and imprisonment. In his second letter to the Corinthians he wrote about his thorn in the flesh, something that was giving him considerable torment and the cause of much personal suffering. We don't know exactly what his thorn in the flesh was, but not knowing what it was actually helps us to relate it to whatever we are suffering. This is what he wrote about it "Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 9 Each time he said, 'My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.' So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:8-10 (NLT)
In the midst of our difficulties, our hurts, God is right there and we have the wonderful promise that his grace is sufficient for us. It's God's grace that enables us to bear up under the weight of the trial so that we are not overcome by it. The truth is that God's power works best in our weakness and we can be strong because of God's power in us. I can testify to the truth of this, there have been numerous times in my life when God has worked despite my weaknesses or perhaps even because of them. When I acknowledge to him that I am too weak, that I have limitations, that I need to depend and rely on him, then I give him the opportunity and room to work through me. My illness is a constant reminder that I can do nothing without him and at the same time can do all that he has planned for me to do because he is working in me, giving me the strength I need. I find that incredible and so encouraging. The truth of those verses never gets old to me, every time I read them or think about them I get a thrill from deep within my very being, and within I shout "Amen! Hallelujah!"
I like the way The Message paraphrases these verses (v7-10): "Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, 'My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.' Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become."
Be encouraged dear friends, that God is with you when you're hurting, that he can and will use these times for good. Joseph was able to say to his brothers, years after the hurt they had caused him, "19 But Joseph replied, 'Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good.'" Genesis 50:19-20a (NLT).
Not only is God with us, we can also know the gift of his grace which enables us to withstand and overcome the trial.
To Think About:
Read Joseph's story in Genesis 37, 39-50 to learn how Joseph was able to say what he did in Genesis 50:19-20a. What can you learn from his example?
Can you look back over your life and see how God has taken what was a bad experience and has brought good from it?
Have you experienced a time when you have recognised that you are weak and need to rely on his strength to enable you to serve him? When you have experienced his grace working in you? What were the results of depending on him?
Vicki
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