Your Success In Your New Life Is A Function of Faith - ƒ(faith)

My Utmost For His Highest

Do you not know that…you are not your own? —1 Corinthians 6:19

{CHAMBERS} “There is no such thing as a private life, or a place to hide in this world, for a man or woman who is intimately aware of and shares in the sufferings of Jesus Christ. God divides the private life of His saints and makes it a highway for the world on one hand and for Himself on the other. No human being can stand that unless he is identified with Jesus Christ. We are not sanctified for ourselves. […] Why shouldn’t we experience heartbreak? Through those doorways God is opening up ways of fellowship with His Son. Most of us collapse at the first grip of pain. We sit down at the door of God’s purpose and enter a slow death through self-pity. […] He [God] comes with the grip of the pierced hand of His Son, as if to say, “Enter into fellowship with Me; arise and shine.” If God can accomplish His purposes in this world through a broken heart, then why not thank Him for breaking yours?”

{ELGIN}  What Chambers says about hardship in your life, does that rub you the wrong way?  Isn’t our new life in Christ supposed to be one of joy and peace (Galatians 5:22-25) and comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3-4) ?  The answer is “Yes!”, but that joy and peace and comfort comes in the midst of the trials and heartache that we all must face and endure in this life.  Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus and His righteousness. What we must decide is what must be true if our life is to be right.  If we are to be happy in this life.  Happiness is dependent upon our circumstances.  Joy is independent of our circumstances and dependent upon our intimacy with the Lord by the power and working of the Spirit in our lives.  It’s a function of faith. ƒ(faith) for your math minded folks out there.  We spend of lot of time trying to cope with our feelings and what happens to us and not enough time focusing on the God who saved us and has given us new life in Christ.  Pastor Rick Warren said “God is more concerned about our character than our comfort.  Our purpose must be to reflect Jesus .. not only in what we do, but in how we respond to what life on this earth brings our way.

(2 Corinthians 4:7-12) “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.  We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.”

Did you think you would be skipping through a field of daisies with butterflies and blue birds flying about?  Probably not for most of us.  God’s affirmation is not validated through personal wealth .. although the uniquely American Christian culture might want to convince you of that.  You have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies (Ephesians 1:3) not with a new a house, two cars in the drive and a fat 401K waiting for the day you are done with work, so you can reap the rewards of your labor.  Read about the rich young ruler if you want to know how much stock the Lord puts in that thinking.  (Luke 18:18-23)  It might cause you to rethink your priorities. Just sayin’!