March 12, 2001
"See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
For my own sake, for my own sake I do this. How can I let myself be defamed?
I will not yield my glory to another."
Isaiah 48:10-11
Reading this scripture started me thinking about what is most important in life, to God, not me (they're not always exactly the same things). In my mind I think that surely God would most want me to be at peace, to be happy because then I'd be most effective. Then I was thinking about the number of scriptures tat talk about suffering and what we learn from it. A couple that stand out to me. In 1 Peter 4:12-13 we are encouraged to rejoice that we can 'participate' in the sufferings of Christ. 1 Peter 1:7 that tells me that God's purpose in allowing all kinds of trials is to refine my faith, that it needs to be proved genuine. Why is this all so necessary? Why would I want to participate in the sufferings of Christ? One of my favorite passages in all the Bible is Philippians 3:10-11, Paul in describing his desire to know Christ includes a desire to participate in the sufferings of Christ!... Why? I think I'm growing to understand that "Jesus learned obedience from what he suffered" (Heb 5:8) ...it's my obedience that matters. Not in the sense that I need to 'do right' all the time but it's about getting to a deeper place in my relationship with God, to live at a place where nothing is greater than my love for God and that nothing else will ever take his place in my heart... that there are no other gods. My struggles in life aren't materialism, a job, education etc.. for me fear has ruled my life, all my life, and has become a god of sorts... God out of incredible love for me, will allow me to go through what I need to in order that he can refine my faith, that I will learn to trust him in the hardest areas for me. Ultimately all that matters is that I, please and bring glory to God. Sufferings, trials, challenges & hard times help me to become more like Jesus because they are the times my understanding of God is exposed, for better or worse, and it is a time I learn to obey God. I learn to open up my heart on deeper levels, to trust him, to let him work, to let him heal, to let him take me in the direction and to the places I'm afraid to go so that he can work and ultimately he will be glorified! That is what matters most in this life...