Do we despise the grace that has brought us this far? We’ve done more than merely survive, but can we not see even in this survival evidence that God is willing to help us? He has not only proven His power; He has proven His patience with us!
Whoever truly comes to terms with the unfailing goodness of God will never again deal with sin or with uncertainty in the same way. A deep, grateful confidence that God is good will win the war against both wickedness and worry.
Like any decision to trust, the commitment of ourselves to the truth about God is likely to be tested as the years go by. But mere testing doesn’t mean our faith was foolish. To the contrary, it may well demonstrate just how wise our choice was.
When sorrow makes an appearance in our lives, we can make it our aim to shine all the more radiantly against the dark background that has developed. We can seek God in such a way as to brighten our character with the brilliance of tested faith.
To gain wisdom from our suffering in this life, our focus must not be on ourselves. The main object in life is neither to defend ourselves against suffering nor to exploit it self-righteously, but to seek a greater Truth outside of ourselves.
We are called to partake of God’s own nature. If sin’s damage is to be undone, we must not only be forgiven of our sins; we must be remade in God’s image. He has arranged for us to be crucified and recreated. To seek Him is to seek this very thing.
When we stay so long in one place that it feels like “home,” we may forget that our lease on this life is temporary. We quit dreaming about heaven, and we get to the point where we don’t want to let go of the things we’ve grown so accustomed to.
“Father, hear the prayer we offer: not for ease that prayer shall be, but for strength, that we may ever live our lives courageously.” While others pray to be excused from hardship, the wise pray for whatever strength faith’s journey may require.
Our hearts need an inside-out transformation. This is the goal God has in mind for us, and there is no shortcut to it. We should make sure that any impatience we have with our present imperfection does not turn into impatience with God Himself.
As we acknowledge our failures and our sorrows, various forms of self-righteousness can creep into our thinking. Secretly, we may come to look upon those whose lives appear more trouble-free as being somehow less spiritually mature than we are.