“…we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance…” Romans 5:2b-3
“Monday, Monday, can’t trust that day.” That song, written back in my kid days, was being lived out as I made calls yesterday. Starting off well, it became apparent that for many, it was already going downhill. Listening to the sheep under my care, as they bleat out their woes, is actually an honor for me. It is my calling to listen, and then give True Hope from the Word of God. It never gets old.
Sometimes I read the Word of God and think God is whacked out of His mind! “Glory in (y)our sufferings?!!” THAT’S a phrase I RARELY see put to use. But then I am reminded that Jesus, The Word of God, suffered a WHOLE lot more in 1 day than I have in my entire life! And HE says… ‘Rejoice in sufferings!’ MY job is to DISCOVER and PRACTICE what HE preaches. Then pass it on to fellow sheep.
Galatians 1:4 says Jesus “gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father.” So on one hand, He agrees that I live in an evil age and have a NEED to be rescued. But He has no plans to pull me out of it! God’s Word says that if I follow and obey Him, I CAN be ABLE to GLORY in my suffering, living INSIDE this evil world! THAT sounds nuts!
C.S. Lewis said, in ‘The Problem of Pain,’ that “We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains; it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” The logical question is, ‘why doesn’t He just throw the megaphone away!’ The answer is, He didn’t create pain in the first place! WE did that ourselves!
The point is, every ouch, bump, loss, hurt and uh-oh produces something. Usually it comes out in tears of sorrow, which can easily lead to anger and bitterness. God says those pains are simply the evidence that I was not MADE for this world. What I am experiencing was never intended in the first place. That should lead me to REJOICE because, there IS a HOPE and a PLACE where I DO belong!
Jesus calls me ‘The Light of the world.’ Lights shine in DARKNESS. Since I am LIVING in a dark evil world, He wants me to SHINE more than I WHINE! One day I will live where darkness cannot. But until then, I am called to adjust my mind to live brightly THROUGH the dark times by HIS power! That is His prescription for the day. So…. what’s in YOUR head and how are YOU doing at shining?
