"Lord, on You I call for help against my blind and senseless torment, since You alone can renew inwardly and outwardly my mind, my will, and my strength, which are weak." -Michelangelo
Chapter 5: You're Not Exempt
There are certain privileges that accompany association:
*If you are a member of AAA, you get hotel discounts.
*If you are affiliated with an airline's frequent flyer club, you accumulate bonus miles for free travel.
*If you work at McDonald's, you might get to eat the French fries left over at closing time.
*If you are a sales clerk at J.C. Penney, you get an employee discount on clothing.
*If your spouse is in law enforcement, the highway patrol might let you off with a warning when you've been doing eighty m.p.h. in a seventy zone.
Many people think there are comparable "exclusive membership benefits" if they associate with God. They think there is some providential protection that surrounds everyone who believes in Him. They believe a guardian angel guarantee will protect them from trouble, tragedy, and turmoil. Too bad for them -- they must not have read the fine print in their celestial contract.
The fact that God does not insulate those He loves from pain and suffering should be evident. For example, consider Jesus -- who had a very close association with God. God allowed Jesus to suffer. And if you are unclear about that, just watch Mel Gibson's movie The Passion of the Christ. (The word passion used in this context refers to suffering.) But Jesus wasn't alone in His suffering. According to ancient tradition, most of His close followers endured torture and/or a painful death.
*Stephen and Matthew were martyred.
*Luke and Philip were both hanged.
*Peter and Simeon were crucified.
*Mark was dragged to his death in the streets of Alexandria.
*John was dunked into a pot of boiling water.
*Bartholomew was killed by having his skin ripped off while he was still alive.
All of these men loved God. But if you were God's P.R. agent, these are not the stories you would put in a recruiting brochure. Their treatment runs contrary to our notion that God shelters those He loves from harm. Well, that notion is flat-out wrong. Our tendency is to decorate our concepts of God with thoughts of love and peace and "blessings." It's true that God is about all those things. But that is a limited and one-dimensional understanding of God -- including a realization that He considers troubles to be a blessing. That's why the Bible says we are to rejoice when hardships come our way:
Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.
-James 1:2-4
God doesn't want us to rejoice in suffering simply because He has a perverse sense of humor. He wants us to realize that our struggles drive us closer to Him. Difficulties are a necessary component for building the foundation of our faith. They cause us to seek God, because we might otherwise tend to ignore Him in tranquil circumstances. They impress upon us our need for God. They expose our lack of self-sufficiency, and we become convinced of our dependency on Him.
The next time difficulties come your way, don't say, "I love God...this shouldn't be happening to me." Instead, realize that those circumstances haven't escaped God's notice. He loves you and can use each situation for your good.
*Easy times may make you spiritually indifferent, but tough times make you spiritually dependent. And that is exactly how God wants you.
*Satan wants your life to be easy, but God loves you too much to allow that to happen.
*Loving God doesn't exempt you from troubles, but it does ensure that you can find meaning and purpose in them.
*Loving God doesn't exempt you from troubles, but it does ensure that you won't go through them alone.
*The Bible says to rejoice in your troubles. That means that when life gets bad, you've still got something good going on.
Through this whole journey of mine, I've never really asked "why me". I've actually always kind of had the thought of "why NOT me"? I know that is sounds crazy, but would I really want the pain and suffering I have gone through to happen to others, especially the ones that I love? Definitely not! There is a reason and a purpose for what I am going through and even though it is really tough to see what that reason and what that purpose is right now, I have faith that everything will all work out in the end. I used to worry about the little stuff. (I still do a little...:) After reading this chapter I have realized that my pain and suffering are not for nothing...I have had this pain and suffering because God loves me and needs for me to trust in Him that He is here for me to lean on. Just like the scripture above says..."when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything." So I'm just waiting on that endurance to fully develop. :)
I think I just got a little "caterpillar shove" from God to keep me moving up that branch...
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