Chapter 8
Persevere Under Pressure
Why have psychological theories and therapies become so popular in the church? Why do Christians automatically turn to the psychological wisdom of men when they are experiencing problems of living and emotional turmoil? Perhaps one of the reasons is that we do not understand the wisdom of God through our suffering. In the depths of depression and despair, God seems so far off. When circumstances storm around and through us, we feel overwhelmed, when those feelings grip us with fear, we feel abandoned by God which causes us to turn to other means of help.
When we are overcome by the magnitude of our own sin, our guilt may cloud the facts of God’s provision for forgiveness and cleansing. It is during those times of suffering and confusion that we are tempted to turn to the icons of the world in the same way that the Israelites turned to the idols of the nations when God seemed distant and they felt overwhelmed by war and famine in their day. But when any of us resents God in the midst of suffering and turns to emotional theories and therapies, we not only miss the possibility of spiritual growth but delay the help God promises and desires to provide.
God is a very present help in time of need even when he seems far away. He is the only one who knows how our story ends and knows best how to help us when we are struggling. God works directly in us through his word: “For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword. It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account, (Hebrews 4:12-13).
God knows us through and through. He is the only one who can see into the depths of our very being and who truly knows what we are experiencing. He is the only one who can change our inner self to conform us to the image of Christ even in the midst of suffering.
Jesus himself experienced the greatest suffering of all when he hung on the cross. The gruesome and unbearable pain he bore in his body did not reach the magnitude of the pain he endured in his inner being, as the sins of the world were heaved upon him.
He paid the full debt of sin and is our greatest advocate before our Father in heaven. He works on our behalf even in our hardest trials. “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in everyway, just as we are- yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14-16).
God gives grace in the difficult places when we turn to him. That does not mean that he hands us a vanishing potion and our troubles disappear, but he will work his perfect will in us to conform us; transform us into the image of Christ, for his purpose. “And, we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified,” (Romans 8:28-30).
God reveals through Paul, in that verse, that trials can be used to conform us into the image of Christ, and that his work in us is a full and complete work, all the way from explanation to adoration. If you fear that you are separated from God during your trials, and what I call the dark valleys, scripture assures us that nothing can separate us from Christ’s love. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sward? As it is written, ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors, though him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels, nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the olive of Go that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:35-39).
We need to encourage one another with these words because our only hope is in God. Indeed, in the most difficult trials and the darkest valleys, the enemy will work to persuade us to feel abandoned and condemned, as well as tempt us to sin in other ways. The previous scripture assures us that we are not abandoned. God is present to give us help to overcome temptation:
Humble yourselves therefore under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time: Casting all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour: Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same king of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong firm and steadfast. To him be the power forever and ever. Amen. (I Peter 5:6-11).
Be honest now, have you diligently called upon the Lord in your trials and waited for his help? In this day, we want instant relief, but God’s timing, whether short or long, is the right timing for his perfect purposes in us. He is true to his word, even when the passing of time seems to contradict his promises. We can count on him. “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way, and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, (Psalm 46:1-2), “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal.” (Isaiah 26: 3-4). God is faithful. He does enable his children to persevere through suffering (James 1:9-12).
He not only brings us through, but he brings us to glory. “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (I John 3:2).
God uses trials to change our lives. That is why we are to keep moving in the midst of trials. God is working even now. There is no more important truth for our daily challenges than this – to see every issue you face from God’s standpoint. God has brought you into the trial, which means he has a purpose in this trial. God is with you and wants you to hang in there and grow. He is not going to abandon you in the midst of something he ordained; trust him to sustain you through this. In Romans 5:3-4, Paul says we are to glory in the pressures of life because pressure brings about endurance and endurance leads to proven character.
If you pray for patience, expect God to send you “opportunities” to learn it. Let us say, for example, that you stopped at the supermarket after work today. You were late getting home as it were, so of course you wanted to just run in and grab something quick to make for dinner. Just when you thought you were going to save time in the 15 items or less line, you get behind a women who insists she has the right coupons for her items but isn’t listening when the cashier tells her, for the tenth time, that they are not the right coupons, and they expired a month ago. The woman finally gives in and tries to find extra money in her pocketbook. You look at your watch as you begin to realize that your feet are killing you and you must get out of those shoes immediately!
Oh for the love of sanity, could this take any longer! you screech to yourself! You are doing your best to stay calm, then, after finally retrieving her pocket book, her purse the size of Hawaii, you think, great all she has to do is pay the woman and I can go home! A simple transaction right? Oh no, this dear woman managed to crumple every bill she had and decided to straighten each one before handing them to the cashier. Clearly, you believe she has absolutely no regard for your time, or the fact that you chose that line for a very good reason- just one frozen lasagna! Ahhh! That, my friends, is how God teaches us patience, by putting slow people in front of us. Are you behind a slow moving vehicle right now? Be patient it won’t be there forever...
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