For You, O God, have tested us;
You have refined us as silver is refined.…
You laid affliction on our backs.
You have caused men to ride over our heads;
We went through fire and through water;
But You brought us out to rich fulfillment.
~ Psalms 66:10-12 (NKJV)
My prayer list is long enough to divide into days, to keep it more manageable. (Monday for Missionaries, THursday for auTHorities, Friday for Family, etc.) Additionally, a priority list is reserved for people in my life who are presently going through such intense trial that I wish to pray for them every day.
That priority list defies attempts to keep it short enough to give it due attention. More Christians seem to be going through increasingly intense trials. And numerous post-trial people experience significant struggle with getting past the past.
When does trial become post-trial? When crisis has passed, shouldn't we be able to draw from grace, buck up via the Spirit's strength, and get on with life? Just how does one emulate the psalmist, and transition from "affliction on our backs" into "rich fulfillment"?
Or does it even matter when the present is re-labeled as the past?
"We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God."
~ Acts 14:22 (NKJV)
As I counsel others and am counseled, I am assured that certain perspectives and expectations make all the difference, regardless of whether we are entering, enduring, or exiting trial.
1. Sovereign God is in control. Trial may or may not occur as a direct result of my own decisions and actions (free will), but it is always allowed and used by the Almighty to make me more like Jesus and draw me closer into relationship with Himself.
2. Because trial enters my life via the Lord's permission, the agent of the trial (whether person or situation) is therefore agent of the Lord's hand and subject to Him. If I harbor anger (or bitterness—anger grown putrid) toward the agent of trial, I may be resisting the Lord's hand.**
3. If I profess Jesus is Lord, I acknowledge God as Master. Wherever He sends, whatever He asks, I can trust my most benevolent Master to use it for my enrichment. Also, any recompense for a wrong done to the servant is owed to the Master, and should little concern His servant.
"So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.' "
~ Luke 17:10 (NKJV)
**
"Blessed is any weight, however overwhelming,
that God has been so good as to fasten
with His own hand upon our shoulders."
~ Frederick W. Faber
Lord, You are good. You are only good. You are powerful enough to use even what is intended for evil as good. Please empower Your servants as we work on getting past the past, getting through the present, and getting ready for the future. Please let us feel You drawing us close—at ALL times.
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Copyright 2012, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Amen, Amen. Thanks so much for this encouraging post. I love you.
ReplyDeleteDenise, after all the encouragement you've passed to me, I'm truly blessed to hear that "Getting Past the Past" has encouraged you. :D
Delete....been coming here everyday for the past week to read this post, Anne. you hit the nail right on the head and my name is written all over it....seems like. way, way back in March i knew that my past was coming at me again like a heavy roll tide. a few weeks ago i was subjected to a really intense examnination at the VA. three and a half hours with a head shrink that took me through a good number of the dark valleys of my life. needless to say, but for me parts of it was like hell revisited. although it's over in the one sense, it really isn't. it left a mess. one of the things that really spoke to me is your mention of "resisting" His Hand. ....been resisting Him for a spell now and keep asking myself, why i do so. i honestly don't know why. for sure there's been/will be some more thoughtful chewing here.
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth, Bud, most posts of late are more than my understanding of the Word. They are a testimony to what the Word shows me about my life, and what God is working there.
DeleteI suspect that today's post, "Helter Skelter," may also resonate with you.
Shalom.