Day 269 - The Gift of Trials

Lee McDowell Christian Ministries                         LMCM

Nacogdoches, Texas                                                           Gal. 2:20  KJV

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength - # 6

Michael’s book is available through:

Abiding Life Ministries International

Littleton, Colorado

(303) 972-0859       almi@abidinglife.com

Before we met Michael Wells for the first time, a friend gave us his book, Sidetracked In The Wilderness, to read and prep for the retreat we would attend.  And then Michael greeted us with this question:  “How do problems affect you?”  Before the weekend was over, our perspective on “problems” was changed.  In Day 269, Michael gives us a look at HOW “the proof of our faith…may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”  AMEN!

Day 269

The Gift Of Trials

In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. –I Peter 1:6 & 7

In a need-related Gospel there can seem to be the promise that if we come to Christ, our whole life will become so wonderful; we will have a perfect marriage, a better job, and a new-model car. Also, faith, like some magic formula, will zap away all of our problems, trials, and difficulties. If people come to Christ expecting those emphases to accompany the Gospel, as soon as the anticipations do not materialize and persecution and trouble come, young faith has no roots and withers away. Sometimes people in this instant age get locked into the “Immediate Success Syndrome” and expect faith to propel them to some type of utopia wherein Christians are immune from the pressure, problems, and hardships of life that are common to all. Some proponents of this style of “faith” teaching would instruct Paul to wash his mouth out because he gives such graphic detail of what life was like for him. In the paraphrased version of II Corinthians, Chapters 11 & 12, read what he says:

            I have been jailed more often than anyone

            Beaten up more times than I can count

            Flogged five times with the Jews’ thirty-nine lashes

            Beaten by Roman rods

            Pummeled by rocks

            Shipwrecked three times

            Endangered in the city, the country

            Betrayed by those who were my friends

            I went without, hungry and cold

Then he receives wonderful revelation from God like no other, saying he was given a gift of handicap to keep from getting a big head. Following all of these happenings in his life, he goes on to say that Satan did his best to get him down, but what the enemy did, in fact, was to push him to his knees, further into Christ. He revealed that at first he did not recognize it as a gift and asked God three times to get rid of it, but God said, “My grace is all you need; My strength comes into its own in your weakness.” Once Paul heard that, he was glad for what happened, quit focusing on the handicap, and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on Paul’s weakness; the weaker Paul became, the stronger became Christ. 

           

Can any of us honestly say that we would call our trials, problems, or circumstances “gifts” that we appreciate? Perhaps it has been easier to see the hand of God in them in retrospect, but like Paul, we know that they sure did not seem like gifts at the time. We must learn that one “Hallelujah” before and during the event is better than ten afterwards. Life is not what we make it, as we often hear said, because if it were, we would make it a whole lot different, especially when it comes to putting comfort in our center. Life comes to us without our acting or even asking; it just meets us every morning when we awaken. Life’s storms come, and no one is exempt or necessarily to blame, but when they do, we should interpret the trials in God’s light and cause them to serve us as they did Paul. We try to get rid of what we see as negatives in our life; we complain, we whine, and we blame others, none of which, of course, change a thing. Perhaps we do what Paul did and pray for God to remove them, or we go out in a special prayer line to try to find a magic formula to be free. 

           

Paul said Satan tried to get him down but only succeeded in getting him on his knees. Even those things that Satan has designed for our destruction will, in the hand of God, work together for good. We all have these trials; as John says, they are common to the brotherhood all over the world. We have difficulties, disappointments, friends who betray us, and all the other difficulties associated with life, but once we have the revelation of God’s methods, we quit focusing on the problem or handicap and begin appreciating the gift. The wrapping on the gift may seem very unattractive and unacceptable, but as it squeezes us, we find the treasure of the life of Christ within. If we can see that the negatives in life are actually gifts, then we can embrace and appreciate them with the knowledge of God’s grace; that is, the desire and power God gives to help us respond to every life situation according to His will. It is not what happens to us in life that matters, but what we do with what happens. Rather than asking God to change our circumstances; we can recognize that He sent those circumstances to change us. Real ministry is birthed out of our negatives. David said, “I was enlarged in my distress.” Remember, our weakness is not our problem but our qualification; the weaker we get, the stronger He becomes. Like Paul, we must see the revelation that weakness is a gift and then not only stop focusing on the weakness but appreciate it and allow it to turn us to Christ. So instead of asking God to help us with our problems, our problems are helping us with God. They can actually turn us around 180 degrees to where Jesus once again becomes our focus.

“Various trials”…sounds innocent, doesn’t it?  Yet, which one of us loves the trials life brings our way???  In fact, we would eliminate all trials if we had control over life.  So, what do we do with these trials?  Best answer I’ve found is this: “recognize God sends these circumstances to change us, and to turn us to Him.”  Makes life easy, doesn’t it?!?  (unless we don’t like to change…)

Yellow – VIP, Very Important Point               Red – GP, Greatest Promises

Turquoise – UR, Unfathomable Riches           Pink – PV, Priceless Victory

Lee McDowell Christian Ministries

P. O. Box 633244    Nacogdoches, Tx 75963                                   936-559-5696