“Let us come boldly to
the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find
grace to help us when we need it most.” Hebrews 4:16 [NLT]
As believers
in Jesus Christ living in a sinful world, we will go through troubling times of
persecution, ostracism, torture, and even death. As we go through these
difficult times and other times of trial, that upon which we focus determines what
we are to become and for what use we are or will be.
If we go
through these difficult times kicking and screaming, then our trials and troubles
change who we are negatively. We experience no growth because we do not go
through them with grace. These trials and troubles make us bitter and angry. We
then produce bitter fruit. If we go through troubles and trials with a sweet
temperament, we learn and grow from the situation. What is the difference between
these two attitudes towards difficulties? The first is self-focused. We might
think, “We do not deserve this. We have rights and what you are doing to me is
wrong.” These two sentences come from the person who faces difficult times while
kicking and screaming. Bitterness, resentment, and anger take root in our hearts,
minds, and spirits and we do not reflect the peaceful Spirit of God. If, however,
we face difficult times keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, who faced many trials,
persecutions, and crucifixion without shouting His rights, we will go through
the times with grace, God’s grace, and will seek what God wants us to learn
from the situations. The fruit of our lives will be sweet and fragrant, so people
will be drawn to us to learn what is different about us as compared to other
people. They will seek to understand how we could go through difficult situations
without being angry, depressed, and vengeful.
What is the
difference between these two ways of going through trials and troubles? The
difference is the perspective of the person. For the growing believer, a strong
relationship with God, occurring because of daily Bible reading and meditation
on it, Bible verse memorization, and prayers of confession, adoration,
thanksgiving, and supplication (C.A.T.S.), creates the strength to persevere
through difficult times. Recalling Jesus’ life and how He endured His
temptations, persecution, and crucifixion because of His grace and love for all
people gives us the strength to go through these hard times. Paul pointed out
in Philippians 2,
You must have
the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though He was God, He did not think of
equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges;
He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He
appeared in human form, He humbled himself to obedience to God and died a
criminal’s death on a cross.
Philippians 2:5-8 [NLT]
Jesus faced
life in human form enduring persecutions, trials, and a crucifixion with a
humble attitude. He showed us how to live this kind of life. His example was
humility and obedience. These two things emanate from us when we live in God’s
grace. What is God’s grace? It is God forgiving us when we don’t deserve it.
Grace is God loving us when we are utterly horrible because of our sin. It is His washing
us when we are terribly dirty from the world and our interactions in it. Grace
is God holding us when we are torn, battered, and bruised and feel unnecessary,
unloved, and without a reason to live.
So how do we
live in troubling times with grace? We live during those times with
perspective. We keep our eyes focused on God knowing He loves us enough to
carry us through these times. We understand He will be with us as we persevere
in our faith of Him. We realize nothing we have done or will ever do will earn us
God’s forgiveness, love, kindness, and peace, but He gives these to us because
He is love and His character defines love. Because of this, we can stand firm
in our faith in Him. Notice each of these requires keeping our eyes focused on God.
When we take our eyes off Him and look at what is happening to us and around
us, our human frailties are all we have by which to get us through the bad times.
Then Satan stirs up fear, anger, bitterness, and chaos in our hearts, minds,
and spirits. As a by-product, when we live by grace through each day, how we
live becomes fruit for other people. In other words, we become broken bread from
which others can learn, from which they can eat. Our testimony and our teaching
about God are wonderful, but when people see the fruit of our lives, they eat
of it and learn more about God and His grace because we lived by His grace.
Let’s
consider Jesus’ example and keep our eyes focused on God. Let’s keep walking
the path He sets before us by following His example, living by grace. Let’s
press on, as Paul said.
I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that
raised Him from the dead. I want to suffer with Him, sharing in His death, so
that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! I don’t
mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached
perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus
first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but
I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies
ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize
for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Philippians 3:10-14 [NLT]
Lord, I don’t know what will happen today or
tomorrow, but I know who You are. I know You love me, and nothing will ever
cause Your love to be taken from me. Many times, I have taken my eyes off You
and I have walked in my own ways and not Yours. At those times, I faltered in
my steps and I led people astray. Please forgive me my self-centeredness. Lead me
to persevere by faith with Your grace. Use me for whatever is for Your glory.
Let my life be a testimony of Your love and grace so someone else will know You
and grow in their relationship with You. Thank You, Father. Amen.
