Thursday 12 June 2008

Don’t lose heart

Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. - Ephesians 3v13

There is tendency for us to not see things the way God see them. I was talking to a friend yesterday about the seeming connexion between joy and suffering. It seems like these two things almost go hand in hand.

This doesn’t only happened when trial happen to us, but to others as well. Apparently there were those in Ephesus who were fretting over the fact that Paul was in prison. He had a joy that they did not have. They knew of his trials and tribulations but did not share in the joy with which he endured his trials.

I think the root problem is that they missed the same truth we so often miss – trials and tribulations are not bad things. They are to bring joy, and here, as Paul points out, they bring glory.

We tend to see trials and tribulations, whether they belong to us or someone else, as bad things. We do all we can to avoid them. We run from them.

Yet, God says that trials and tribulation produce joy and glory.

Lets not lose heart in trials; God has purposes in mind that we cannot imagine!

1 comment:

Candi said...

Again this reminds me of Col. 1:9-12 where Paul prays that believers will have the the "glory-strength" to stick out their journey of sanctification. The Messages call is "strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us." I don't know about you, but I often forget that the "bright and beautiful" refers to the hard times I go through, where He is working on my behalf to work all things for good to conform me to Christ's image! It'll be so cool one day to look back with Him and see how bright and beautiful our lives were from His perspective as He wove the trials into His glory.