Though many who presume to preach the gospel of salvation would deny this, they give people the impression that, upon believing the gospel, all trials and troubles will flee. While it is true that if we walk in truth and righteousness we save ourselves untold evils, it is evil which the Lord uses to break us and mold us after His likeness. And these trials can be far more difficult than those we had previously.
Take Paul for example. Was he whipped, stoned and beaten with rods when an unbelieving Jew according to the flesh, sitting amongst friends at the feet of Gamaliel?
The evils applied to us for good develop invulnerability and immortality.
Resilience, where would I be
If not for your helping hand?
At one time I was deathly ill,
So vulnerable to the slightest afflictions.
Scratches would hold sway
Like a pestilence
And linger in my soul
For years.
But now like a ball of Indian rubber,
I bounce away from a wall of brick
Whereas once I was as an egg.
The past is a fearful jailor,
A formidable tormentor as well.
With an iron grip,
With shackles and chains,
It held me
In bitterness and regret,
In shame and dismay,
In helpless thoughts
Of revenge and amends.
Not so now.
Resilience has come,
Riding upon healing,
Healing harnessed in pardon,
And now I am free.
Afflictions still come
And pain is there
From enemies far greater
In power and number
With liberties of warfare
Given to them
And denied to me.
But whereas a scratch was once
A mortal wound,
Seemingly,
Now a mortal wound,
Seemingly,
Is but a scratch.
There is life in me
The enemy cannot touch
Much less overcome.
I am sheltered in a
Mighty Fortress,
Impregnable.
He has carried me to safety
And there I trust in my Savior
Rather than fear my destroyer.
Resilience, you are mine.
Lethbridge, Sept. 30, 1984
Related posts:
Spanish – English So very much of our conversation belies our true nature and convictions. We say we love God, we speak of thanking and praising Him when we “are in church” or in a religious setting trying to impress others but let the guard down and listen to the words of our mouths and our hearts. Now these hearts are supposed to be the new ones we received in our “new birth.” With one set of words we proclaim we are new creatures, thankful to God in all things. With another set, we let others know where we really stand. Often, the arm raised in praise has a clenched fist and the lips of thanksgiving conceal gnashing teeth. Because conditions are never perfect, the spirit of complaint can never be stilled or appeased. Our ceasing to complain cannot hinge therefore on a change in conditions but must come solely by change in spirit and attitude. The source or cause of complaint is never the circumstances but always the subject in same. At any given time our lives can view from either of two perspectives, positive or negative, like two sides to a coin. Each side truly exists and we are right either way but we become what we behold. Therefore must we decide what to behold. Isn’t it awful? Isn’t it hot out? It’s enough to fry one’s brains! It’s so dry and dusty…. If only we had a little rain. You want rain? Plan a picnic! Where did all these terrible flies come from? Sure it’s raining…just washed my car! If it doesn’t rain, it pours! Is it ever muggy out! ...
What did the religious who accused Christ of blasphemy do with what He told them about themselves and their sins? They blasphemed! And that’s the way it has always been for God’s children, who serve as a mirror of light that reflects the image of those who come against the truth. Didn’t Jesus warn His followers about those He called the children of Satan, “If people call the head of the family Satan, what will they say about the rest of the family?” (Matthew 10:25 CEV)? And we, as Christ’s ambassadors, admonish His children, “For consider Him Who endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest you be weary and faint in your minds” (Hebrews 12:3 MKJV). Mirror, mirror, on the wall, Wherever did you get your gall? I’m not guilty of such things at all! Mirror, mirror, take a fall! I have a different image in my mind, Of myself that’s much more kind. A finer person you’ll never find; Surely, mirror, you are blind! Mirror, mirror, full of lies, What you show me, I despise, What I see, my heart denies, Things not fit for holy eyes! Who holds this mirror before my face? I find your judgment cruel and base. Is your agenda my disgrace? You need to learn and know your place. I will now even the score; I will escape what I abhor. Crash goes the mirror to the floor, A false impression to give no more. But now I have only shattered dreams. There’s no more peace, it seems, Only eyes full of beams, A sta...
While servants of the prince of darkness present themselves as angels of love and goodness, they grant their victims in part those things the flesh desires to have without cost of life. Souls are thus ensnared in their own selfishness. "I gave my child all it wanted. I spared nothing. What more could I have done?" laments the parent whose child is now on drugs or in prison or dead. How ironic that the sure path to destruction is receiving at request all that one could ask for! How ironic that our way to peace and fulfillment is in denial, hardship and deprivation until the final day! The epitome of selfishness: "I want," it declares; "I want it all," it demands; "I want it all now," it screams. It loves to be pampered and cuddled. It has no notion of cost to another, No care for one's needs or desires Other than its own. When not obliged, Its world stands still, Its heart bound in the thing it wants. A thousand things a day it wants. "My way!" it cries, Not for reason's sake nor truth, Not for right nor even good, But for self, and when denied, It pouts; Sullen and resentful, It eats itself And those around Unless it gets its way. The child of evil is ruled By its passions And its whims, By its ignorance And its needs so perceived. At every turn it cries Unless it gets its way; It clings to itself to live, Held in the grip of death. But deliverance comes As an enemy, In the form of a rod, The rod of chastening, of discipline, ...