Trials

"To keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." - 2 Corinthians 12:7-9

People who live with chronic pain tell us that after a while the real hardship is not that it hurts but that they have little hope that it will ever stop hurting. Trials can present themselves as never-ending: Will this grief ever end? For believers, time often allows us to see that God is in fact working all things together for good (see Romans 8:28).

Meanwhile, lasting trials fit within the following five biblical borders:

• Omnipotence has its limits. When you say God is all-powerful, that doesn't mean God can do absolutely anything you can conceive of. There are many things God can't do. God can't make a round square or even a married bachelor. God can do anything that can be done. God can't contradict or contra-act Himself.
• The world God made is good. In its original form the world was perfect. But God wanted a world in which people were free to choose. God wanted meaningful relationships. In order to have heartfelt worship and meaningful obedience, there had to be the possibility of meaningful disobedience.
• In a world in which people are truly free to choose, not everyone chooses God. God could not make a world in which people were free to choose and, at the same time, guarantee that everyone would choose Him.
• Given the kind of world God created, the effects of sin randomly visit themselves on creation. Created free to choose, we chose to sin. Because of sin, creation is broken (see Genesis 3:17-18; Romams 8:20). The world doesn't work right. People get cancer, die prematurely, and suffer accidents. Marriages fail.
• God could prevent the effects of sin. God intervenes to prevent the effects of sin; but normally, God allows broken creation to function and horrible events to happen. God doesn't cause those things, but He allows them. But after the event occurs, He promises Himself to the people who face the trial so that we can display the superiority of a life lived in God.

We go through the same hardships that people who don't know the Lord go through. Yet our experience is very different. We know we will leave every trial behind when we enter God's presence.

A Restful Beauty

A geode is a rock with beautiful crystals inside. These are formed as water, high in mineral content, flows through the rocks. When the minerals become trapped in the rock and the water continues to flow, the crystals are created. The more the water flows – the more beautiful the crystals become - on the inside. The outside of the crystal; however, suffers underneath the wear and tear of the weather and fades from any form of beauty it once held.

That is the picture of someone in whom and through whom the Spirit of God is flowing. Although our outer appearance may age with time, and wrinkles may begin to show, we are to grow more exquisite inside with each passing year. This happens when we look to God for inner transformation. God works on our spirits, resulting in a glorious beauty.

One way God works within us is by teaching us to rest in Him.

Have you ever seen eagles fly? They are known for soaring and gliding as their wings catch the wind. But did you know that if eagles could not soar, they would crash? Their wings are too heavy for them to flap continually the way some birds do. So eagles flap their wings until they catch an air current, and then they soar.

God has designed each of us to soar on the wind of the Holy Spirit. He says that He will do the work; we only need to be still and rest. He wants us to position ourselves in Him and glide in His power. As we rest in Him, He will transform us into the beautiful reflection of His glory that He has created us to be.