Her little niece tugged and pulled at the sleeves on her dress, attempting to put her arms through. Elizabeth Elliot reached out a helping hand only to be met with a shrug and a smile, “It’s OK. Papa usually lets me struggle.”
What a thought: let your children struggle. What a wise thought.
Struggles are often times seen as a bad omen, or as a sign of persecution from God. If we struggle it must be because we’re “out of God’s will.” Or we’re “not obeying His voice,” or something in our lives, be it priorities, passions, desires or deeds are not in line with God’s Word. While that certainly should not be dismissed, that is a common myth attached to the word struggle. Struggling is not bad.
But struggles can certainly be burdensome. They come in all forms: trials, temptations, burdens, depression, crises, rejection, dejection, inadequacy… anything under the sun can become a struggle to you, emotionally, mentally, or especially spiritually.
In Passion and Purity Mrs. Elliot tells a story about herself and Jim, before they were courting, but while they were in love. They went into a cave later one evening, made a drift wood fire and sat together for several hours, uninterrupted. The temptation rose rapidly, and both knew of it. Rather than conclude her story with an admonition to avoid dark caves and fires by moonlight, she instead left the situation conditional. She wrote, “A word of warning here. It is not a good idea to go into caves or sit by driftwood fires in lonely places if you are not yet sure of your God.”
This is not a novel thought, yet it struck me as it never had. The temptation for Jim and Elizabeth was passing boundaries they knew they should not pass; the temptation for the rich man is loving his wealth more than his God. The burden for the young mother is to lose her temper, respond in impatience, rather than accept the grace, and reply in a loving, tender way toward her restless child. The burden for the 13-year-old geek is to be dejected by the taunts and ridicules of high-schoolers twice his size, rather than learning the truth that in Christ he more than OK. In whatever form they may come struggles speak lies to us about who we can be in Christ, and who our God truly is. This its what Elizabeth Elliot admonishes us to remember, and what writers of the New Testament counsel.
“No temptation has overtaken you that is common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)
And again, when Paul tells the church in Corinth of his thorn in his side, he sighs, ”Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me, but He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weaknesses.’ “ (2 Corinthians 12:8-9)
The power that comes through struggling proves to the Christian God’s infinite greatness. He is the glorified God that the heavens cannot help but declare, He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel; he is the God who preserved Joseph, using what his brothers meant as harm, for good; He is the great I AM, who led His people out of bondage, slavery and misery, and into an abundant land; He is the Alpha and the Omega, Jehovah, Yahweh, Abba Father.
How big is your view of God? How powerful is He in your eyes? Do you daily acknowledge His omnipotent presence? A presence that is involved in every way with the happenings and dealings of mankind? Even in the struggles.
Listen to what Peter has to say on the matter, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.” (1 Peter 4:12-13)
Or Paul again in 2 Corinthians 7 “In all our affliction I am overflowing with joy.”
But how ludicrous! This message from God’s Word is completely contradictory to what the world teaches, or what even humanly makes sense. If something itches you scratch it. If you’re hot, you get out of the sun; consequently, if you’re cold, you put on a sweatshirt. In a culture of constant gratification not being surprised by struggles is certainly counter-cultural. But honestly viewing situations like this, does any other source offer as much peace, hope and confidence as God’s Word?
The Lord reminded me of this lesson just recently. The day was particularly difficult. Struggles, trials, and temptation to doubt and fear abounded. I felt as if my life, and those near me were falling apart. I was lost in a sea of amazement, confusion, and dismay. As I cried, the rain started to pour from the sky, as if God was crying with me. In a moment I recognized the truth through the struggle, God was still in control. O! How he holds each tear in a bottle, and how he cares for us. Did not the Son of God weep at the death of his beloved friend? I then thought of the hymn Dear Refuge of My Weary Soul. The lines of the second verse were mine,
How ironic it was. How often life is like that: the clouds of sin hide the great promises of God… but that does not mean they are not there! Though we are faithless He remains ever faithful.
How blessed, and how humbled I was four hours later with the knowledge of God’s eminent presence graven on my heart. I passed the very spot I had frantically searched for the rainbow, and found stretched across the sky one glorious, brilliant bow. All the colors vibrated against the gray dusky sky. A smile radiated my face, and more tears fell down my cheeks: there was not just one rainbow, but two. The second was merely an echo of the first, smaller, dimmer, less vibrant, but together the sight was glorious. In the time between these two events I had fallen to the ground in humble supplication, seeking grace, and looking towards Hope. It was now as if God was saying I’m here. Look and see. I promised.
I heard it once said that the cloudiest skies make the most glorious sunsets. It’s true. There’s something about great billows of clouds mixing with the rich colors of the sun as darkness rises that is so much more magnificent than a simple dip of the sun below the horizon. The clouds during my day of struggle had made that day's end more glorious.
What I did not recognize during the turmoil of this struggle, a friend told me of the following day. The power of the sun coming through those clouds revealed more of God’s promise than the actual rainbow. Is not the Sun the reason we can rest on God’s promises? I was met in my day of trouble by a patient, loving God, and never before did I feel so united with Christ.
“Therefore, let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.” (1 Peter 4:19)
Let us answer as Job did in the face of trials, “Though he slay me, I will hope in Him.”
"It is the last step that wins. It is when heaven's heights are full in view that hell's gate is most persistent and full of deadly peril." For this reason we are admonished to stand.
"O Death, where are your plaques? O Sheol, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory though our Lord Jesus Christ."
(1 Corinthians 15:55)
What a thought: let your children struggle. What a wise thought.
Struggles are often times seen as a bad omen, or as a sign of persecution from God. If we struggle it must be because we’re “out of God’s will.” Or we’re “not obeying His voice,” or something in our lives, be it priorities, passions, desires or deeds are not in line with God’s Word. While that certainly should not be dismissed, that is a common myth attached to the word struggle. Struggling is not bad.
But struggles can certainly be burdensome. They come in all forms: trials, temptations, burdens, depression, crises, rejection, dejection, inadequacy… anything under the sun can become a struggle to you, emotionally, mentally, or especially spiritually.
In Passion and Purity Mrs. Elliot tells a story about herself and Jim, before they were courting, but while they were in love. They went into a cave later one evening, made a drift wood fire and sat together for several hours, uninterrupted. The temptation rose rapidly, and both knew of it. Rather than conclude her story with an admonition to avoid dark caves and fires by moonlight, she instead left the situation conditional. She wrote, “A word of warning here. It is not a good idea to go into caves or sit by driftwood fires in lonely places if you are not yet sure of your God.”
This is not a novel thought, yet it struck me as it never had. The temptation for Jim and Elizabeth was passing boundaries they knew they should not pass; the temptation for the rich man is loving his wealth more than his God. The burden for the young mother is to lose her temper, respond in impatience, rather than accept the grace, and reply in a loving, tender way toward her restless child. The burden for the 13-year-old geek is to be dejected by the taunts and ridicules of high-schoolers twice his size, rather than learning the truth that in Christ he more than OK. In whatever form they may come struggles speak lies to us about who we can be in Christ, and who our God truly is. This its what Elizabeth Elliot admonishes us to remember, and what writers of the New Testament counsel.
“No temptation has overtaken you that is common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)
And again, when Paul tells the church in Corinth of his thorn in his side, he sighs, ”Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me, but He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weaknesses.’ “ (2 Corinthians 12:8-9)
The power that comes through struggling proves to the Christian God’s infinite greatness. He is the glorified God that the heavens cannot help but declare, He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel; he is the God who preserved Joseph, using what his brothers meant as harm, for good; He is the great I AM, who led His people out of bondage, slavery and misery, and into an abundant land; He is the Alpha and the Omega, Jehovah, Yahweh, Abba Father.
How big is your view of God? How powerful is He in your eyes? Do you daily acknowledge His omnipotent presence? A presence that is involved in every way with the happenings and dealings of mankind? Even in the struggles.
Listen to what Peter has to say on the matter, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.” (1 Peter 4:12-13)
Or Paul again in 2 Corinthians 7 “In all our affliction I am overflowing with joy.”
But how ludicrous! This message from God’s Word is completely contradictory to what the world teaches, or what even humanly makes sense. If something itches you scratch it. If you’re hot, you get out of the sun; consequently, if you’re cold, you put on a sweatshirt. In a culture of constant gratification not being surprised by struggles is certainly counter-cultural. But honestly viewing situations like this, does any other source offer as much peace, hope and confidence as God’s Word?
The Lord reminded me of this lesson just recently. The day was particularly difficult. Struggles, trials, and temptation to doubt and fear abounded. I felt as if my life, and those near me were falling apart. I was lost in a sea of amazement, confusion, and dismay. As I cried, the rain started to pour from the sky, as if God was crying with me. In a moment I recognized the truth through the struggle, God was still in control. O! How he holds each tear in a bottle, and how he cares for us. Did not the Son of God weep at the death of his beloved friend? I then thought of the hymn Dear Refuge of My Weary Soul. The lines of the second verse were mine,
But Oh! When gloomy doubts prevail
I fear to call thee mine,
the springs of comfort seem to fail,
and all my hopes decline
. Yet gracious God, where shall I flee?
Thou art my only trust,
and still my soul would cleave to Thee,
though prostrate in the dust.
As I finished the final verse, Thy mercy seat is open still, there let my soul retreat, in humble hope attend Thy will, and wait beneath Thy feet, the sky parted, the rain slowed (though it did not stop) and the sun shone through the clouds. I anxiously began to look for the invisible rainbow. My mom, concerned with my frantic glances asked what was the matter, and I sobbed a barely audible, “I want a rainbow.” A promise, some proof of His promises, was all I wished for, but God thought it best to make me wait. “There is no rainbow, Honey. There are too many clouds," was my mom's reply.I fear to call thee mine,
the springs of comfort seem to fail,
and all my hopes decline
. Yet gracious God, where shall I flee?
Thou art my only trust,
and still my soul would cleave to Thee,
though prostrate in the dust.
How ironic it was. How often life is like that: the clouds of sin hide the great promises of God… but that does not mean they are not there! Though we are faithless He remains ever faithful.
How blessed, and how humbled I was four hours later with the knowledge of God’s eminent presence graven on my heart. I passed the very spot I had frantically searched for the rainbow, and found stretched across the sky one glorious, brilliant bow. All the colors vibrated against the gray dusky sky. A smile radiated my face, and more tears fell down my cheeks: there was not just one rainbow, but two. The second was merely an echo of the first, smaller, dimmer, less vibrant, but together the sight was glorious. In the time between these two events I had fallen to the ground in humble supplication, seeking grace, and looking towards Hope. It was now as if God was saying I’m here. Look and see. I promised.
I heard it once said that the cloudiest skies make the most glorious sunsets. It’s true. There’s something about great billows of clouds mixing with the rich colors of the sun as darkness rises that is so much more magnificent than a simple dip of the sun below the horizon. The clouds during my day of struggle had made that day's end more glorious.
What I did not recognize during the turmoil of this struggle, a friend told me of the following day. The power of the sun coming through those clouds revealed more of God’s promise than the actual rainbow. Is not the Sun the reason we can rest on God’s promises? I was met in my day of trouble by a patient, loving God, and never before did I feel so united with Christ.
“Therefore, let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.” (1 Peter 4:19)
Let us answer as Job did in the face of trials, “Though he slay me, I will hope in Him.”
"It is the last step that wins. It is when heaven's heights are full in view that hell's gate is most persistent and full of deadly peril." For this reason we are admonished to stand.
"O Death, where are your plaques? O Sheol, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory though our Lord Jesus Christ."
(1 Corinthians 15:55)
