Skip to main content

“Many of us interpret resistance the wrong way.”

A thought by Chris Hodge from his book, The Daniel Dilemma: How to Stand Firm and Love Well in a Culture of Compromise (Kindle Locations 1172). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

I want us to continue down the vein of thought from the last blog because it is so important for us as Christ followers to understand and live by.

Chris says, “We face opportunities to exercise and grow in our faith. Spiritual testing is basically God’s pop quiz, a challenging situation or unexpected circumstance that reveals our potential, growth, and maturity.

“Many of us interpret resistance the wrong way. We can often view tests as nothing more than an attack of the Devil—but that’s not the case. The Enemy may try to attack us while we’re in the middle of a test, hoping we’ll be weaker and more vulnerable; but the kind of tests we’re talking about here are chances to grow, be promoted, and graduate to the next level. They’re not obstacles to be despised but instead are opportunities for advancement. In fact, they may mean you’re closer than ever to doing exactly what God has called you to do. Paul wrote, ‘I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me’ (Acts 20:23).”

Did you catch that, “…they may mean you’re closer than ever to doing exactly what God has called you to do.”

Chris goes on, “After facing numerous tests and trials in his life and ministry—everything from shipwrecks to jail cells, not to mention murderous crowds—Paul knew the value of these situations. He said, ‘Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope’ (Rom. 5:3–4). Later, he also encouraged us to ‘be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer’ (Rom. 12:12).

“And Paul wasn’t the only one with this counterintuitive message. James, the half-brother of Jesus, explained, ‘Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything’ (James 1:2–4). We can only grow in our faith if we’re tested—it’s that simple. It might not be what we want to hear, but it’s true.”


And John 8: 32 says, “...the truth will set you free.”  And it will, won’t it?

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)   Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle?   Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...
Post a Comment
Read more

“When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life.”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 57). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. To realize that from God’s perspective life is a test goes a long way in determining how you handle your life.   It is important to see that in testing your character is both developed and revealed.   Rick goes on to say that “even the smallest incident has significance for your character development. Every day is an important day, and every second is a growth opportunity to deepen your character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on God.” So there is a God purpose behind each situation in your life.   Even the bad ones are there to strengthen you and develop you.   You see those bad situations are really good ones because they are there for your good. I start each day with a reminder that God is good.   Not every situation that is going to come in my day is good but because G...
Post a Comment
Read more

“Sometimes we think we’re stuck simply because things are hard.”

A thought by Matt Perman, from his book, How to Get Unstuck (p. 52). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the That is a possible trap for many, isn’t it? Matt says, “But if you’re continuing to make progress and aren’t experiencing huge snags, you’re not stuck. Rather, you’re in a dip. “A dip is a temporary hard slog that you will get through if you keep pushing and don’t give up. And pushing through the hard slog is actually the fastest route to the destination. In these cases, you will be especially tempted to bail. Be discerning and able to identify that you’re in a legitimate dip and you’re not a failure.” Matt says another trap to be careful of, “Some people are stuck and don’t know it.” He goes on, “Everything can be going your way, going smoothly, and going quickly. Everything feels and seems wonderful. Yet... you are still headed toward a dead end, a form of getting stuck, if you are leaving God out of t...
Post a Comment
Read more