THE
PRECIOUS PATINA FROM PAIN
BREAD
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face
trials of many kinds, 3 because
you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so
that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James
1:2-4 (NIV)
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we
have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this
grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our
sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character,
hope. 5 And hope does not
disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy
Spirit, whom he has given us.
Romans 5:1-5 (NIV)
7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating
you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you are not disciplined (and
everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true
sons. 9 Moreover, we have all
had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more
should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10 Our fathers disciplined us for a
little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we
may share in his holiness. 11 No
discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it
produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained
by it. Hebrews 12:7-11 (NIV)
12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial
you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice that you participate in
the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is
revealed. 1 Peter 4:12-13 (NIV)
10 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. 11 To him
be the power for ever and ever. Amen. 1
Peter 5:10-11 (NIV)
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. Romans 8:18 (NIV)
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. Romans 8:18 (NIV)
19 For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain
of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. 20 But how is it to your credit if you
receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing
good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. 21 To this you were called, because Christ
suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 22 “He committed no sin, and no deceit
was found in his mouth.” 23 When
they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he
made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 1 Peter 2:19-23 (NIV)
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that
we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received
from God. 5 For just as the
sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our
comfort overflows. 6 If we are
distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is
for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same
sufferings we suffer. 7 And
our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our
sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. 2
Corinthians 1:3-7 (NIV)
32 Remember
those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground
in a great contest in the face of suffering. 33 Sometimes
you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood
side by side with those who were so treated. 34 You
sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your
property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting
possessions. 35 So do not
throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36 You need to persevere so that when you
have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. Hebrews
10:32-36 (NIV)
33 “I
have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you
will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John
16:33 (NIV)
BUTTER
“They
who dive in the sea of affliction bring up rare pearls.” Charles Spurgeon
“Do you want the gifts or the
giver? Do you want deliverance from
suffering and discomfort or do you want the Comforter Himself? We believe the lie that if you follow and
obey God into discomfort and out of what is ‘safe’ then there will be blessings
and reward for you and things will go well…but instead you’ve entered into
discomfort and you’re finding it’s your new normal. How can suffering and joy coexist? In suffering, there is a death to life
resurrection we get to witness, a picture of new life. In suffering, we anchor ourselves in the
assurance of hope and joy in Jesus not in our circumstances. In American Christianity, we have bought into
the lie that if it is good, then it cannot be hard. That goodness must exclude suffering. This is not true. In Jesus’ upside-down gospel good and hard
totally coexist and weave together for our goodness and His glory.” Jay
and Katherine Wolf
“David passed that
gloomy brook when fleeing with his sorry company from his traitorous son. The
man after God's own heart was not exempt from trouble; in fact, his life was
full of it. He was both the Lord's Anointed and the Lord's Afflicted. Why then
should we expect to escape? At sorrow's gates the noblest of our race have
waited with ashes on their heads. Why then should we complain as though some
strange thing had happened unto us?”
Charles H. Spurgeon
“For My way is hidden from the
rebellious, and from the disobedient, and from those who seek to walk in their
own wisdom. But look to Me, and I will
be your beacon in the night, and you will not stumble over the hidden
things. You will walk in a way of victory
though turmoil is on either hand, even as Israel marched through the Red Sea on
a path My hand hewed out or them. Yes,
it shall be a path of deliverance, and My Spirit shall go with you, and you
shall carry the glad tidings of deliverance to people that sit in darkness and
captivity…You will glorify Me; for My plan for you excels all other ways, and
in the center of My will is a perpetual fountain of glory.” Frances J. Roberts
“Are
you fighting with the adversary today? Are Satan, the world, and the flesh all
against you? Do not be discouraged nor dismayed. Fight on! For God Himself is
with you. Jehovah Nissi is your banner, and Jehovah Rophi is the healer of your
wounds. Do not fear, you will overcome, for who can defeat Omnipotence? Fight
on, looking to Jesus; and although the conflict is long and tough, the victory
will be sweet, and the promised reward will be glorious.” Charles
H. Spurgeon
“Then we shall be where we would be; then we shall be what we should
be; Things that are not now, nor could be, soon shall be our own.” Thomas Kelly
“While all things are quiet and comfortable, we live by sense rather
than faith, but the worth of a soldier is never known in times of peace.” Thomas Manton
“The Lord Jesus is our shepherd (Psalm 23:1); therefore, we shall not
lack anything necessary for our final good. He restores our souls and leads us
in paths of righteousness, not with the sympathy of a distant relative, but
with the empathy of one who suffered the same and more.” Marshall
Segal
“Though troubles assail us and dangers affright, Though friends should
all fail us and foes all unite, Yet one thing secures us, whatever betide, The
promise assures us, ‘The Lord will provide’.
The birds, without garner or storehouse, are fed; From them let us learn
to trust God for our bread. His saints
what is fitting shall ne’er be denied.
So long as ‘tis written, ‘The Lord will provide’. When Satan assails us to stop up our path,
and courage all fails us, we triumph by faith.
He cannot take from us, though oft he has tried, This heart cheering
promise, ‘The Lord will provide’. No
strength of our own and no goodness we claim; Yet, since we have known of the
Savior’s great name, In this our strong tower for safety we hide: The Lord is our power, ‘The Lord will
provide’.” John Newton
“The details of our hard may be
different, but all our need for courage is the same.” Ann Voskamp
“Because it is God’s work in us, there is
no question about the outcome. His will
is always good and pleasing and perfect for the child of the King.” BHY
“God’s grace is illustrated and
magnified in the poverty and trials of believers. Saints bear up under every
discouragement, believing that all things work together for their good, and
that out of apparent evils a real blessing shall ultimately spring—that their
God will either work a deliverance for them speedily or most assuredly support
them in the trouble, as long as He is pleased to keep them in it. This patience
of the saints proves the power of divine grace.
There is a lighthouse out at sea: It is a calm night—I cannot tell
whether the edifice is firm. The tempest must rage about it, and then I shall
know whether it will stand. So with the Spirit's work: If it were not on many
occasions surrounded with tempestuous waters, we would not know that it was
true and strong; if the winds did not blow upon it, we would not know how firm
and secure it was. The masterworks of God are those men who stand in the midst
of difficulties steadfast, unmovable-- Calm mid the bewildering cry, Confident
of victory. The one who would glorify his God must be prepared to meet with
many trials. No one can be illustrious before the Lord unless his conflicts are
many. If, then, yours is a much-tried
path, rejoice in it, because you will be better able to display the all-sufficient
grace of God. As for His failing you, never dream of it--hate the thought. The
God who has been sufficient until now should be trusted to the end.” C. H.
Spurgeon revised by Alistair Begg
“It is in the quiet crucible of our personal private sufferings that
our noblest dreams are born and God’s greatest gifts are given.” Wintley Phipps
HEART SAVOR
·
Our
trials produce in us a richness – a patina if you will, which deepens us,
making us of value to others as well as to ourselves! Allowing us to have something to give. Trials are God’s chosen instrument in
conforming His children into the image of His precious Son.
·
The
path of suffering is costly but so worth it.
·
Don’t
“kick against the goads” of what God allows in your life – be it ever so hard.
