Habakkuk 3:17-19 ESV
Though the fig tree
should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the
olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off
from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in
the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
God, the Lord, is my
strength;
he makes my feet like the deer's;
he makes me tread on my high places.
To the choirmaster:
with stringed instruments.
Suffering has a
Purpose
In this life we are going to have troubles and hardships.
Some of these will be the result of the curse of sin on this earth, while
others may be the consequences of wrong choices we have made in our lives. And,
yet others will be God’s divine disciple and correction in our lives as part of
the purification process he is accomplishing in our lives to make us like him.
For, the scriptures teach us that those whom God loves he
disciplines (reproves, chastises). “But he disciplines us for our good, that we
may share his holiness.” And, although divine discipline and correction is
painful, if we respond appropriately to it, “later it yields the peaceful fruit
of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (See Heb. 12:1-13 ESV).
And, we read this is John 15:1-2: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in
me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear
fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”
And, this pruning has to do with removing (purging) undesirable
elements from our lives. And, to prune means “to cut off or cut back parts of
for better shape or more fruitful growth; to cut away what is unwanted or
superfluous” (M-W dictionary). And, this is usually done via divine discipline.
God uses trials and tribulations in our lives, in other words, to make us holy.
For, our sufferings produce endurance and steadfastness in
us, which build character and maturity in Christ. Our trials, too, test the
genuineness of our faith, though tested by fire “may be found to result in
praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” And, too, we go
through difficulties so that we can comfort others with the comfort we received
from the Lord during our own trials. And these sufferings, too, are to teach us
to rely not on ourselves but on God. So, they are for our good, though painful
they may be at the time (Rom. 5:3-5; Jas. 1:2-4; 1 Pet. 1:6-7; 2 Co. 1:3-11).
I Will Rejoice
It is easy to rejoice when things are going well for us in
this life, when we have all of our basic needs met and more. But, it is harder
when life throws its curveballs at us, i.e. when those things which are
unexpected and are disruptive to our lives in one way or another come into play.
Then, our human tendency is not to rejoice, but that is when we need to the
most.
When Satan attacks us, and his hordes come against us, and
when friends betray and desert us, and family members turn against us, and
sickness and disease befall us, and natural disasters overtake us, and the
money runs out, and the car breaks down, and the bills pile high, we need to
rejoice. And, we need to call on God, and pray for his divine intervention.
And, we need to take joy in the God of our salvation. And,
we need to not complain and become bitter in spirit because life didn’t go as
we had hoped or as we had expected. Yet, I am not saying we should not grieve,
or that we can’t be sad, but that we should turn to our Lord during these
times, and pray, and call on him in our suffering, and be thankful.
I believe, too, that we need to have the right perspective.
For, as humans, sometimes we can get an entitlement mindset, and then when
things go awry, which they will, we get upset. And, that is because we have
this wrong idea about life and what we deserve. Especially in America, and
perhaps in other countries, too, where we have so much, and can take so much
for granted, if we are not guarded in our hearts, we can get caught up in
griping and complaining over even the slightest inconveniences.
So, we need to fix our eyes on Jesus and not on our
circumstances, and when I say “we” I mean me, too. Yes, I love my Lord, and I
am following him with my life, but that does not make me perfect, nor does it
make me not susceptible to having human responses to my circumstances. Daily I
have to give my life situations over to him and allow him to work in those
circumstances for his purposes and for his glory. And, I have to guard my heart
against worry and discouragement, and I have to be joyful.
So, again, it all comes down to perspective. When we have the
correct perspective about life and what is or is not owed us, or concerning our
purpose for being on this earth; and if it is a heavenly perspective and not an
earthly one, then we can rejoice in our Lord even when life doesn’t turn out as
we had hoped it would sometimes. And, that is when we must surrender all to
Jesus and trust him that he truly knows what is best.
The Lord is My
Strength
It is the Lord who gives us the strength to endure unjust
suffering. He is the one who strengthens us in battle against the enemy of our
souls so that we do not lose heart. He gives us strength when our human
strength runs out. He empowers us from on high to stay the course and to finish
the race he has set before us. So, when we feel like we just can’t go another
step, he will sustain us and uphold us, and he will empower us to keep on
going.
He can put a spring in our feet (in our steps) when we grow
weak and tired. And, we will be able to dance when we feel like we cannot even
walk. And, that is because it is him who is strengthening us, and it is him who
is filling us with his joy and with the desire to move forward. And, this is
not necessarily speaking physically here, but metaphorically and spiritually.
For, physically I don’t dance. I have two left feet, so to
speak. I am not coordinated. But, spiritually I dance, for the scriptures teach
that beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news. And, so the
dancing that I do is keeping in step with my Lord and it is moving my feet to
his timing in taking the gospel wherever he has me go with it. And, so I do
dance.
And, he gives us feet to tread down the enemy of our souls
and to walk righteously before our Lord, too, again speaking metaphorically and
spiritually. For, we are only able to walk according to his Spirit because we
are empowered of the Spirit of God to walk in his ways. Yes, we do have to
cooperate and yield to his Lordship, and we do have to take those steps of
faith, and walk in obedience to Him, but he is the one who empowers us with his
strength, with his wisdom, and with his love to accomplish his purposes.
So, yes, life is going to throw its curveballs at us, at
times, but God allows these for his purposes, to make us holy and to conform us
to his likeness. So, we need to keep the right perspective, and we need to
respond to our trials with the grace of God, and in step with him, with him
leading us in the ways that he would have us to go. And, when we do this, we
will be at peace, and we will experience the joy of the Lord. And, we will be
able to rejoice in him even when life kicks us hard. Amen!
It’s
All You
Lyrics
by Tosin Iyawo Ogaga & Sue Love
Music
by Sue Love @ Original Works
Vocals
by Tosin Iyawo Ogaga*
All
Glory to God!
May 31, 2019
You are the reason I want to dance.
You are the reason I want to sing.
You are the reason, expressing myself,
I serve You in all the ways You lead me.
You are the reason my heart gives You praise.
You are the reason that I am alive.
I bring out Your best moves
Just so I do embrace You;
Sing out loud as You lead just to please You.
Let myself follow You. I don’t care who watches me.
All I want to do is to make You smile.
Let every fiber of me bring You praise.
Your love has lifted my feet to dance.
Your faithfulness leaves me singing for joy.
You, Jesus, are the reason, it’s all You.
Your grace gives me life.
*full
lyrics used by permission of the lyricists
Saturday, June 8, 2019
*Tosin’s blog: https://aletheasmind.wordpress.com/
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