STAYING IN THE PROCESS
During a Sunday fellowship meeting recently, one of the sisters was testifying/exhorting about the battle with cancer that she had experienced years earlier, along with other challenges that the Lord allowed her to walk through in her life. She emphasized the importance of persevering through our trials and not giving up or getting discouraged because things are rough, or God isn’t answering as quickly as we would like. A phrase that the sister used stuck with me and inspired me the more I thought about it. The phrase was “Stay in the process”, referring to the importance of acknowledging that God is working something good in all of our difficulties. We must not give up until He has worked in us what He wishes. James was referring to this principle when he wrote, “…let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” (James 1:4).
There is plan
and purpose in everything that God allows to enter our lives. He can take every loose strand and weave it
into the overall tapestry that is our life.
There is also a process which, in the end, will cause the character of
Jesus Christ to be etched into our nature.
Rather than being conformed to
the world’s norms, we can allow ourselves to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, and be changed into the
likeness of our Lord and Savior. This
process can sometimes seem very slow, but God knows what He is doing, never
fear. He is teaching us His ways, and we
must be willing and obedient. We must
also learn to be very patient. Isaiah
tells us that “…precept must be upon
precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little,
and there a little.” (Isaiah 28:10).
It’s like passing through the grades when we were in school: what we
learn in first grade lays a foundation for what we learn in second grade; what
we learn in second grade prepares us for what we learn in third, etc. The lessons of life are like that, but much
more critical for us to learn. Even when
we don’t understand what is happening to us, we can trust that God has a plan
and that we can rely on the process that He employs to teach us. The writer of Proverbs reminds us that “…the path of the just is as the shining
light, that shineth more and more
unto the perfect day.” (Proverbs 4:18).
Paul laid out
the process for us in simple terms when he wrote, “…but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh
patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not
ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost
which is given unto us.” (Romans 5:3-5).
Tribulation, patience, experience, hope: these are the four main
elements of the process, and we must all
go through these phases in order to achieve God’s purpose for us. The important thing, however, is that we “stay in the process.”
TRIBULATION
Tribulation
can come in many forms. It can be
sickness, affliction, trouble, distress, anguish, persecution, anxiety,
temptation, oppression, or a host of other undesirable things that we
experience as human beings. Some folks have
the mistaken notion that if they live clean lives, and do what’s right and
good, then they will avoid all tribulation.
They think that if they are experiencing trouble of any kind then it
must be because they have done something wrong.
This couldn’t be further from the truth.
We don’t need to look any further than our Lord Jesus to see that this
isn’t the case. Scripture tells us that
even though He was the Son of God and never committed a sin, yet He learned
obedience through the things that He suffered (see Hebrews 5:8).
The
Israelites, after being delivered from the bondage of Egypt, were led into the
wilderness to be humbled and proven. God
used their trials to bring to light what was in their hearts so they could be
brought to the surface to be purged and refined (Deuteronomy 8). In the same way, after we are born again, the
LORD leads us into barren places where we can’t depend on what we see around us
to sustain our spiritual health. We must
learn to trust in the unseen God and in His Word. This is where the Lord forges our nature to
shape us into the image of the Son. As God
spoke through His Prophet Isaiah, “Behold,
I have refined thee, but not with silver; I
have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction [tribulation].” (Isaiah 48:10).
Tribulation
is inevitable. It’s one of the ways that
the Lord uses to produce growth and maturity in you and me. After the miraculous feeding of the 5,000,
scripture says that Jesus “constrained”
His disciples to get into a ship and go across the Sea of Galillee without Him
(Matthew 14:22). It wasn’t a
suggestion. The Greek word translated “constrained” also means “to compel and to necessitate.” We
know from the story that once they were well away from land, a bad storm blew
up, and they were struggling to navigate the ship. Jesus knew all along that the storm would
catch them – He is, after all, the Master of the sea – but He wanted them to experience this storm so
that they would learn to trust in Him.
In the worst of the storm, Jesus came walking on the water to them! When He got in the ship, we’re told that the
winds ceased! Jesus was in control all
along!
We
modern day disciples of the Lord must also go through tribulation. Jesus tells us, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have
overcome the world.” (John
16:33). And in another place Paul said, “…we must through much tribulation enter
into the kingdom of God.” (Acts
14:22).
The
Apostle Peter had his share of tribulation.
In his first letter to the believers, he exhorts and comforts them
concerning the trials he knew they were going through. He wrote, “Beloved,
think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though
some strange thing happened unto you…” (1 Peter 4:12). He wanted them to know that experiencing
tribulation was a normal part of growth for all Christian believers. He also wrote, “…that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold
that perisheth, though it be tried
with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the
appearing of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:7).
The
Lord is never far from us when we go through trials of any sort. Like a master refiner, He never takes His
eyes off of us and never lets the heat get so high that it will damage us. He comforts us in all our tribulation so that we will be able at some point to
comfort others who are also going through troubles (2 Corinthians 1:4).
PATIENCE
“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into
divers temptations; knowing this, that the
trying of your faith worketh patience.
But let patience have her
perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” (James 1:2-4).
The desired
effect of tribulation is that we learn patience. This type of patience isn’t like the kind we
may have when we refrain from sighing, tapping our foot, or making rude
comments as we’re waiting in a long line at the bank and then feel proud of
ourselves that we didn’t do all the things that we could have done. No, this
goes much deeper than that. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
defines it in this way: “In the New
Testament, [it is] the characteristic
of a man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to
faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings.” It is “constancy,
endurance, steadfast waiting for [something desired], and perseverance.”
We know that
there is an eternity of bliss awaiting us in a home that Christ has prepared
for those who love Him. God will wipe
away all tears from our eyes; and there will be no more death, sorrow, crying,
or pain. The fashion of this world will pass
away, and all things will be made new.
There is a desert that we have to walk through first, though, and that’s
where we must learn to be patient. This
world is filled with pits and snares, but we have a Savior Who has navigated
every one of them Himself in flesh and blood. He can steer us through them because He knows
the way. There is no night too dark, or
passage too treacherous, that He can’t pilot us through. You can trust Him. He cares for you.
James says we
can even “count it all joy” when we
go through tribulations (James 1:2). This
would seem like a tall order except for the two little words that he uses next:
“…knowing
this...” What is it that we must know? “…that the trying of your faith worketh
patience (vs. 3).” Joy comes from the knowledge and belief
that God is working something good in our lives through the trials that we
experience, and that there is a Promised Land that awaits us ahead.
I recently
talked to a longtime Christian friend who had been diagnosed with a brain tumor
sometime before he and his family moved out of the state. He went through a number of physical
challenges as a result of it. He also
had diabetes which complicated his condition.
At one point, he had slipped into a comma from a severe infection in his
legs and feet. The doctors came to his
wife and said that if they didn’t remove both of his legs above the knees, he
wouldn’t survive. She had the horrendous
responsibility of making that decision for her husband without being able to
talk to him about it or prepare him for it.
He woke up out of the comma some time later without his legs. After his recovery, he was taken home. They tried to make it work for quite a while, but
it was too difficult for his wife to manage everything. He was moved to a nursing facility where they
could give him better care. Our friend
went through the gamut of emotions trying to deal with what had happened to
him, and it was very difficult for the whole family. He was in the nursing facility for a number
of years, and then they decided to try to bring him home once again. He was there for 6 months, but it was
impossible for his family to provide him with the care that he had at the
facility. So, he went back.
As the brother
and I caught up, I was impressed by how upbeat his conversation and attitude
was. He spoke about how the Lord had
given him a Bible study to help lead. They
have asked him to do certain tasks at the facility like running the equipment
for movie night and helping guests find their way to their loved ones’
rooms. In everything that he spoke
about, he gave God glory and praise. The
comment that he made, however, that moved me to tears was when he said that he
had struggled for a long time with the grief he felt about his circumstances,
but he had settled it in his heart with the Lord. He was able to let his grief go. He said, “I’m happier now than I’ve ever been
in my life!”
This is what God
means when He says, “Let patience have
her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” Our friend has allowed the Master Refiner
to work His Life into his very nature,
and it is beautiful to behold! Nothing can forge the character of Jesus
in us better than adversity. It
is the Refiner’s crucible, the Sculptor’s chisel and hammer, the Carpenter’s
rasp, and the Blacksmith’s sledge. Peter
says, “Humble yourselves therefore under
the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time. Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth
for you.” (1 Peter 5:6, 7). And
later in the same chapter he writes, “But
the God of all grace, Who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ
Jesus, after that ye have suffered a
while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” (1 Peter
5:10).
Read Paul’s
words regarding the thorn in the flesh that he
endured. He called it “the messenger of
Satan” that was sent to buffet him and to humble him. Paul prayed three separate times that he might
be delivered from this affliction. After
the third time, God spoke to Paul and said, “My
grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
What was Paul’s response to this? He
said, “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities,
that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Therefore I take pleasure
in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for
Christ’s sake: for when I am weak,
then am I strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9, 10).
To learn
patience through tribulation is something that we all must learn at the feet of Jesus.
EXPERIENCE
Experience is
what we gain as a result of going through the tribulation/patience
process. Also, there is good experience, and there is bad experience. Bad experience teaches us what not to do in the future, while good
experience teaches us what works and what we should do in the future.
Studying the
life of Joseph in the Bible gives us great insight into how the process
works. Joseph was greatly blessed by God
at a young age. He was loved by his
father and given a “coat of many colors”
as a special gift that none of his older brothers were given. Joseph was given the gift of dreams and the
interpretation of dreams by God, and the LORD spoke to him in his dreams about
future glory that would be his.
Joseph, being
immature, was not wise in the way that he shared his dreams with his family. His brothers turned on him and sold him into
slavery. The years of persecution by his
brothers prepared Joseph for the trials and temptations which he experienced in
the house of his Egyptian master, and gave him what he needed to face the
difficulties he experienced in prison.
All along, Joseph made himself useful and showed himself to be faithful
in all that he did.
The picture that
we have of Joseph in his later years after he had been elevated to great wealth
and influence in Egypt, and after he had shown grace and mercy to his family,
is a far different picture from the one when he was young. God had worked His image in Joseph, and in
him we see a foreshadowing of Christ Jesus.
He went through a variety of different adversities, temptations, and
trials; but he gained experience from every one of them and grew spiritually
into the man that God wanted him to be.
Experience not
only helps us when we face new
challenges in the Lord, but each one gives us valuable lessons with which we
can comfort others who are going
through tribulation. In 2 Corinthians 1,
Paul writes, “Blessed be God, even the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all
comfort; Who comforteth us in all our
tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by
the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.” (2
Corinthians 1:3, 4). Every experience is valuable. Even our failures can be used to minister to
others if those failures have worked in us a greater victory in the end. We must remember that God is working all things together for good to them who
love God, who are the called according to His purpose.
HOPE
Hope is
essential for us to have in our arsenal.
The Psalmist tells us, “Happy is
he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God.”
(Psalm 146:5). It is God, and our
trust in His continuing aid in our day-to-day circumstances, that gives us hope
in every new struggle that we face. He
has said, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you.” Therefore, we can boldly say, “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (See Hebrews 13:5,
6 NKJV).
“Remember the word unto Thy servant, upon which Thou
hast caused me to hope. This is my
comfort in my affliction: for Thy word hath quickened me.” (Psalm 119:49). God’s Word is
like bread from heaven that nourishes and strengthens us for the battle and
infuses us with divine life. It is the
source from which we draw spiritual vitality, and it gives us hope when we are
tempted to feel that our situation is hopeless.
God’s Word will always reveal the Lord Jesus Christ to us in some new
way, and confirm to us the all-sufficiency of His grace. “Wherefore
gird up the loins of your mind [prepare your mind for action], be sober, and hope to the end for the
grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1
Peter 1:13).
“For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is
not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do
we with patience wait for it.” (Romans 8:24,
25). Hope is the absence of direct
sight. If we can clearly see the reward that is being placed
before us, then we no longer need to hope
that we will receive it. It is already
ours. If it isn’t already in our hands,
however, then we must learn to be patient in waiting for it. The hope that is set before us is that we can
be changed into His likeness in this life and afterwards inherit eternal life
with God in Christ. “…we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we
shall see Him as He is. And every man
that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure.” (1 John
3:2, 3).
In every trial,
God is teaching us patience, and that process gives us experience which, in
turn, fills us with hope in every new struggle that we encounter. “Now
the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may
abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” (Romans 15:13).
LOVE OF GOD
“…and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of
God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” (Romans 5:5).
The hope that we
have in God through Christ Jesus our Lord is a hope that will never be
disappointed or cause us shame. We know
that our hope is grounded on the truth that “…all
things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called
according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28).
Ours is a lively hope in
Christ because of His resurrection. It
is a Gospel of life from death, strength from weakness, and hope from
tragedy. Metamorphosis and victory will
punctuate the end of our testimony if
we yield ourselves to God’s will. Like a
butterfly emerging from its cocoon, we can emerge transformed from every
adversity that we encounter in our lives.
Even in
tribulation, the love of God floods our hearts with a calming assurance that He
is still in control and that we can trust the work that He is accomplishing in
us. The Holy Ghost which God has given
us reminds us of His great love and comforts us in all our tribulation.
Remember: there
is a process; and we must stay in the process and not give up until God has
worked His purpose in us. John reminds
us to be very careful that we don’t lose the things that God has worked in us so
that we receive a full reward (2 John 1:8).
The carnal man is concerned with getting his own way and never enduring
grief; but the spiritual man will endure any adversity so that Christ may be
formed in him. Let patience have her perfect work, and remember to “stay in the process!”
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