Given

6/11/2009

Philippians 1:29 29 For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,

I’m told that in the old days when wooden wheels were made for wagons and carriages, the wheel-makers chose the wood from trees at the edge of the forest where those trees had been exposed to the most wind and thereby the greatest stress, thus making the wood of the trees more desirable in strength and quality for making wheels. Sounds good to me; sounds smart to me.

There is something divinely reassuring about the words, “…but also to suffer for His sake…” There is something strangely appealing knowing that the stresses of life where the winds of adversity blow have a positive effect on my faith and my endurance in patience; for Paul said to the Philippians, “For to you it has been granted…” that means suffering is a gift or a divine bestowment of something good.

The world in which I live is not getting better, it’s getting worse (2 Timothy 3.13). But that doesn’t mean the gospel is less effective or that God is losing control – it means that the faithful must remain faithful and one of the ways to remain faithful is to be tested and one of the ways to be tested is to be granted for Christ’s sake to suffer for His sake. Suffering makes the wood of the trees strong and desirable for a greater purpose… not fun, but proven.

Father in Heaven,

You are perfectly good and holy in all You do. You know that I need to be tested because if not, I’ll fail under pressure. So You lovingly grant suffering in my life that I may become the man You’ve called me to be. Your word reminds me, “My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord or loathe His reproof, for whom the Lord loves He reproves, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.” Thank You for the gift – I pray in Jesus’ Name, amen.