Jul
9
He Hath Chosen Thee!
Present Suffering and Future Glory
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
It’s cool how God works in the little things too. – I choose to write this message on suffering and it happens to be 8:18 when I start which reminds me of one of the verses I have been holding onto during my fiery furnace. It is crucial for us to not take the bait of thinking that God’s love is conditional or that he has forsaken us in our greatest hour of need. When he seems so distant and quiet, he is actually doing his greatest work in us. When our adversaries are the greatest and he lets us struggle and persevere – he is doing a great work. Oh how important it is that we know this and coach our hearts along the way. Telling ourselves the truth as much as needed. The greatest blessings are not at the Country Club of the prosperity Gospel but through your cross of affliction which liberates you from “this body of death”!
Jesus is committed to our refining which in reality is our freeing. It is his Good Work in you. Philippians 1:6
6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
Our job is to submit and trust no matter what. I know, easier said than done! I agree with you, but know this- He always reminds me of a promise he gave me on a Men’s Hike in 2011. He told me that he would give me everything I need to do the work he has for me to do. This promise is for you too!
I believe, our greatest works are that of suffering for righteousness sake. Look at Jesus’ great works- healing, raising the dead etc. but they pale in comparison to his work of suffering.
I don’t know where you are on your journey. If you are in the fire, I pray that this encourages you. If the fire has not knocked your door down yet, know that it is coming. When it does, know that it has been filtered through his loving hands and that you will come out the other side victorious and shining bright to the Glory of The Lamb.
In closing, remember this- He Has Chosen You for Glory!
Peace, Jonathan
“I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction” (Isa. 48:10).
Does not the Word come like a soft shower, assuaging the fury of the flame? Yes, is it not an asbestos armor, against which the heat has no power? Let the affliction come–God has chosen me. Poverty, thou mayest stride in at my door; but God is in the house already, and He has chosen me. Sickness, thou mayest intrude; but I have a balsam ready–God has chosen me. Whatever befall me in this vale of tears, I know that He has chosen me. Fear not, Christian; Jesus is with thee. In all thy fiery trials, His presence is both thy comfort and safety. He will never leave one whom He has chosen for His own. “Fear not, for I am with thee,” is His sure word of promise to His chosen ones in “the furnace of affliction.”
–C. H. Spurgeon
Pains furnace heat within me quivers,
God’s breath upon the flame doth blow;
And all my heart in anguish shivers
And trembles at the fiery glow;
And yet I whisper, “As God will!”
And in the hottest fire hold still.
He comes and lays my heart, all heated,
On the hard anvil, minded so
Into His own fair shape to beat it
With His great hammer, blow on blow;
And yet I whisper, “As God will!”
And at His heaviest blows hold still.
He takes my softened heart and beats it;
The sparks fly off at every blow;
He turns it o’er and o’er and heats it,
And lets it cool, and makes it glow;
And yet I whisper, “As God will!”
And in His mighty hand hold still.
Why should I murmur? for the sorrow
Thus only longer-lived would be;
The end may come, and will tomorrow,
When God has done His work in me;
So I say trusting, “As God will!”
And, trusting to the end, hold still.
–Julius Sturm
The burden of suffering seems a tombstone hung about our necks, while in reality it is only the weight which is necessary to keep down the diver while he is hunting for pearls.
–Richter
– taken from Streams In The Desert
