…that the life of Jesus also
may be manifested in our body. —2 Corinthians 4:10
“It is not just a question of
being saved from hell, but of being saved so that “the life of Jesus also may
be manifested in our body.” And it is adversity that makes us exhibit His life
in our mortal flesh. Is my life exhibiting the essence of the sweetness of the
Son of God, or just the basic irritation of “myself” that I would have apart
from Him? The only thing that will enable me to enjoy adversity is the acute
sense of eagerness of allowing the life of the Son of God to evidence itself in
me. No matter how difficult something may be, I must say, “Lord, I am delighted
to obey You in this.” Instantly, the Son of God will move to the forefront of
my life, and will manifest in my body that which glorifies Him.[…] You must keep yourself in the proper condition
to allow the life of the Son of God to be manifested in you, and you cannot
keep yourself fit if you give way to self-pity. Our circumstances are the means
God uses to exhibit just how wonderfully perfect and extraordinarily pure His
Son is. […] It is one thing to choose adversity, and quite another to enter
into adversity through the orchestrating of our circumstances by God’s
sovereignty. And if God puts you into adversity, He is adequately sufficient to
“supply all your need” (Philippians 4:19).”
CHAMBERS
(James 1:2-4) “My brethren,
count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith
produces patience. But let patience have
its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” How you respond to trials in your life, and
there have been and will be trials, depends upon where you have placed your
trust. When you are facing trouble, what
is your first response? Is it Lord get
me out of this or is it Lord give me the strength to persevere? Certainly if your life or another’s is in
jeopardy you must take action, to remediate the situation, but you know that is
not what I am referring to. It’s the other
circumstances of life .. those life events that you face daily. A verse that I often quote is in 2 Corinthians
chapter 1, the God of all comfort who comforts us in our afflictions. Said
another way, to quote Rick Warren, “God never wastes a hurt.” With trials comes opportunity. The world is not interested in a faith that
is dependent upon good times to be of value.
The world is looking for a faith that has value in the difficult
times. A faith that transcends the here
and now. A faith that gives strength and
hope in the midst of calamity. It is during those times, in a Christian’s life that the life of Jesus is
most clearly manifested. When His Light
shines brightest. Those times when you
are completely given over to the sovereignty of God. Totally dependent upon Him and not yourself
(Proverbs 3:5,6).
That will not happen by
itself. You cannot expect to just “flip
the faith switch on” like walking into a dark room and turning on the light. Continuing with that analogy, what you will discover is that like the dark
room, the light does not come on because you didn’t pay the electric bill and
there is no power. In the same way, if
you are not developing your relationship with God through the practice of the
disciplines of the faith, when you flip the switch, you will find that you
will not be able to persevere. Why? Because you have been trusting yourself and
not God. Or perhaps this does not apply to you. There is power behind the switch. Then to that I
say Praise the Lord! Let your light shine and encourage others to do the
same. CHARLEY
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