O.K. I’ll come right out and make a confession to you. I admit it. I’m always looking for shortcuts. I don’t think I am the only one, and that does make me feel a little better. I tend to look for shortcuts in almost everything I do. Here are some examples: I’m always looking for a shortcut when I’m driving to a familiar place. I like to look for shortcuts when I’m using my word processor, or when I’m doing the dishes, or getting ready for work or, well, I guess I do it anytime I have to repeat a task over and over.
Looking for shortcuts can be a good thing (except for those shortcuts I take with my car that actually make my trip even longer!). I get into trouble, though, every time I look for shortcuts in my Christian life. I want to experience God’s sweet presence and feel His amazing power, but I’m not too keen on going through the hard times that teach me how to experience those blessings. I want my prayers answered, but I don’t want to spend the time earnestly seeking God in prayer.
In his book Disappointment With God, (Zondervan, pp. 207-8) Philip Yancey hits us right between the eyes with this undeniable truth: “Human beings grow by striving, working, stretching; and in a sense, human nature needs problems more than solutions. Why are not all prayers answered magically and instantly? Why must every convert travel the same tedious path of spiritual discipline? Because persistent prayer, and fasting, and study, and meditation are designed primarily for our sakes, not for God’s. Kierkegaard said that Christians reminded him of schoolboys who want to look up the answers to their math problems in the back of the book rather than work them through….We yearn for shortcuts. But shortcuts usually lead away from growth, not toward it.”
No one likes hardships, and yet the Bible tells Christians, “to you it has been granted
British pastor Charles Spurgeon famously said, “They who dive in the sea of affliction bring up rare pearls.” What are some of those “rare pearls” that Charles Spurgeon was talking about?
Here are some treasures that can come from the trials God allows into our lives:
The Apostle Paul (who suffered a great deal) highlighted some of the benefits of suffering when he said, “… we also exult [rejoice] in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; [a cheerful confidence in God’s promises] and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:3–5). In other words, when hardships come to Christians, the supernatural love that God has placed inside them allows them to have a cheerful confidence in God even when things are hard.
James describes the benefits of suffering this way, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect [mature] and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2–4). Christians can find joy in trials because it equips them to be able to live calmly in this broken world.
The point is that there is no shortcut to knowing how to live a good Christian life. One person put it this way:
Light after darkness, gain after loss;
Strength after weakness, crown after cross;
Sweet after bitter, hope after fears;
Home after wandering, praise after tears.
If you have turned from your sin and put your trust in Christ, then you will see goodness in suffering that drives you closer to Jesus. Notice how the Apostle Paul expressed his heart: “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:7–8).
Thanks, That was a blessing!