Devotions By Jan

Category Archives: Suffering and Trials


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Sorting Trash

Recycling-4Scripture for Today: Hebrews 10:35-36 “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.”

Sorting trash while living in France took quite an effort!  Garbage disposals do not exist there so biodegradable trash grew very stinky being picked up only once a week.  There are communal bins for glass, a recycle center for wood and electronics, and a once-a week pick up for recyclables as well as normal trash.  It could be very confusing!  When guests came I hated to bother them about where to throw their tissues!

Our verse for today tells us about something believers should never throw away; our confidence!  That confidence allows us to persevere in doing what God wants.  The believers addressed here had suffered being thrown in prison and having had their property confiscated!  Their treatment was unfair but they were told to stay confident that God would richly reward them for their sacrifice and perseverance.

One who has thrown away their confidence is one who no longer believes the suffering is worth it.  When the going gets tough it is just too much.  Abandoning the faith for an easier life, they forgo the reward for their perseverance that would have been theirs.

I can respond in one of two ways to a life-changing crisis. I can either blame God and run away from Him, or I can run to Him for the comfort and encouragement that only He can give.  My faith and confidence, rather than being thrown away, grows and strengthens when I choose that second response.

I do not know what hard thing may await me.  But please God, do not ever let me throw away my confidence!

 


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Muscle Cramp

Scripture for Today: Isaiah 38:17 “Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. In Your love You kept me from the pit of destruction; You have put all my sins behind Your back.”

Nothing stops a person so completely in their tracks than a muscle cramp!  When it happens to me I do not care what I look like when I hit the ground and cry out in agony!  The pain, though temporary, can be so intense and feels like it will last forever!  That involuntary contraction is incredibly strong and the only relief seems to be in massaging it.

Our suffering may stop us in our tracks.  Like King Hezekiah, sometimes all we can do is turn our head to the wall and cry.  Our verse for today was written by King Hezekiah after his illness and recovery.  He acknowledges that there was benefit in his suffering.  He learned humility (verse 15) as a result of the “anguish of his soul.”  He understood that the Lord acted out of love and not malice towards him.

Suffering in any form can shake our faith to its core.  When we do not see the outcome we want, the suffering can well transform itself into an anguish of the soul.  It is too easy to doubt God’s love and wonder if He really cares.  But God always acts out of love for His own.  He works that suffering into a benefit that is of eternal value although I may not see it.  He wants me to “walk by faith and not by sight.”

The ultimate suffering would be to spend eternity without Him.  I can never doubt His love because He spared me that suffering when He forgave my sins.

Thank you Lord, for sparing me the worse kind of suffering!

 

 


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Jello

Scripture for Today: I Peter 5:10 “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.”

Jello leaves me feeling ambivalent.  On the one hand it is very versatile.  Anything and everything can go in it and it can take on so many forms and shapes.  On the other hand, it is slimy and unnaturally colored.  It wobbles and slithers and is usually too sweet for me.  The French as a rule do not want to even try it, so perhaps they have influenced me over the years.  Too many times, I have unmolded a jello only to have it not be firm enough to hold the shape!

Our verse for today promises strength, firmness and steadfastness.  It is a promise directed to those who are called by God’s grace and belong to Him.  This promise is always needed but especially so after going through a time of suffering.  I am not firm and steadfast in the middle of trial.  I am like that jello, all wobbly and ready to slide off the plate.  No one stands strong when their legs feel like jello!

The suffering we go through is usually unexplainable.  The only thing I know with certainty is that it is unavoidable.  My comfort is that God uses it.  The pain is never wasted.  It is through suffering that I draw closer to the Lord and learn to love Him more.  Sometimes my suffering is used to encourage others.  In any case, it is to be counted a privilege to suffer for Him as He suffered so much for me!

What comfort to know that He personally restores me and renews my strength!  Thank you, Lord.

 


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Surprised!

horseunnamedScripture for Today: I Peter 4:12 “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.”

On a recent horseback riding adventure, my husband got the “privilege” of riding the unpredictable one!  This unruly horse would bolt and even nudge mine, causing my horse to kick back at him.  Unfortunately, he missed, kicking my husband’s shin instead!  Bolting up the embankment of a stream he decided to stop suddenly, throwing my poor husband over his head and to the ground!  Thankfully, he was able to successfully break his fall, only bruising his ribs and his ego!  It happened so quickly, we were all surprised!

Our verse for today tells believers not to be surprised at the hard times we suffer.  They are not the exception, but the norm.  We are not exempt from difficulties, although sometimes we think we should be.  We get used to an easy gait and get lulled into thinking that an easy life is our right and privilege as God’s own.  Then something sudden happens and we are surprised!  Rather than holding on, the ordeal unseats us.

The “fiery ordeal” in this verse is not something that is caused by our own wrong choices.  It is an ordeal that comes from living as a believer in an unbelieving world.  Rather than be surprised at the negative reactions, I am told to rejoice that I can participate in some small measure what Jesus faced.  I can expect that others will heap abuse on me (I Peter 4:4).   I am not ever to be surprised if the world hates me (I John 3:13).  This testing of my faith is never very comfortable!

Help me Lord, to stay faithful to You, even when it is hard.


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The Artichoke

Scripture for Today: Deuteronomy 6:5 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”

The artichoke was something I avoided as a child.  I actually did not mind peeling off the leaves and scraping them off with my teeth.  But when I arrived at that hairy center, I was repulsed and would not cut out and eat the artichoke heart.  My siblings were thrilled and would argue over who got to eat it!  They were happy to eat it without all the work of peeling off the leaves.

Our verse for today is a commandment often repeated in the Old Testament.  It is repeated in the New Testament as well.  The Lord wants us to love Him with all our heart.  He wants our entire being to respond to Him.  Half measures do not mean so much.  A divided heart does not have as much value to Him.  He gives His all to us and the only possible response is to give our all to Him in return.

My problem is that I think I am giving Him my heart when perhaps I have only given Him a part.  Being humbled and tested is the only way I can really know if I have given Him all my heart.  The Lord led the Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years in order to know what was in their hearts (Deut. 8:2).  My difficulties today serve the same purpose.  Each problem peels off another outside leaf and the heart is more and more exposed.  It is in the midst of suffering or loss that my heart is revealed.  Will I only love Him when times are good?  Do I only love Him when my desires are met?

Lord, may my heart be completely Yours today.