Today’s Reading: 2 Timothy 2-4, Proverbs 24
Guest Blogger: Andy Milligan
2 Timothy 3:10-12
You, however, have followed my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, my faith, my patience, my love, my endurance, as well as the persecutions and sufferings that happened to me in Antioch, in Iconium, and in Lystra. I endured these persecutions and the Lord delivered me from them all. Now in fact all who want to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. (NLT)
Notice the absoluteness of Paul’s last statement in this scripture. He doesn’t say those who want to live godly lives may be persecuted, but in fact will be persecuted. You would be hard-pressed to make the argument that Christians in America are persecuted. Yes, we face our share of political battles over things like displaying the Ten Commandments in certain public areas, prayer in schools, etc., but we simply don’t face the persecution the early church and ministers such as Paul did.
What we do face is trials and difficulties in our lives. The Word is clear that no one is exempt from tragedy or disappointment. Jesus himself was not exempt, but suffered greatly. Notice, in these verses Paul says that he endured suffering and persecution AND the Lord delivered him from them all. He doesn’t say he was delivered without having to face them. The truth is, Jesus offers no immunity, no way out of unfairness, but rather a way through it. That is what happened time and again in the Apostle Paul’s life. He faced suffering, tragedy, pain, disappointment, and even abandonment, but God provided a way through those things, not around them.
The primary issue here, of course, whether we are facing a tragedy in life or full persecution, is faith. Easy enough to say, not so easy to always put into action. The problem is we face things in our lives that cause us to ask questions about God’s fairness, His silence, or even His presence when we need Him most. C.S. Lewis sums it up well when writing about the tragic loss of his wife:
“Where is God? This is one of the most disquieting symptoms.
When you are happy, so happy that you have no sense of needing
Him, if you turn to Him then with praise, you will be welcomed
With open arms. But go to Him when your need is desperate,
When all other help is vain and what do you find? A door
Slammed in your face and a sound of bolting and double bolting
On the inside. After that, silence. You may as well turn away.
The longer you wait, the more emphatic the silence will become.”
C.S. Lewis
A Grief Observed
It is when we feel this way that exercising faith is needed most. The great thing is that God can deal with every human response except one: treating Him as if He doesn’t exist. Anger, frustration, and questioning are not problems for God; lack of faith is.
The Bible leaves no confusion about the fact that it is impossible to please God without faith. We’re often tempted to think that things would be easier if God would just explain why we face certain trials or why someone doesn’t get healed, but we must remember that where there is no opportunity for doubt, there is no opportunity for faith.
We have little comprehension of what our faith means to God. Because God created us with free will, faith has an intrinsic value to God we can barely imagine. There is no better way for us to express our love to God than to be exercising faith in Him. Sometimes the only way to do that is to turn off the reasoning mind and simply engage the faith-filled spirit.
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