2 Corinthians 1:3-4

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 ESV
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, [4] who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

I have always loved this verse.  It has never ceased to be a source of encouragement and blessing to me as I deal with the day to day issues that surround the melancholy from which I suffer.  But ya know, though it is a great passage it has to be understood within the individual context of our  circumstances for its value to be truly appreciated.

The first thing we need to reflect upon is exactly how God is merciful to us in our affliction.  Of course, the big thing is that it could always be worse than it is or it could be a different and more crippling affliction.  We never understand this until we actually consider the possibility of a greater and more difficult affliction.  I really believe that each persons afflicton is tailor made for their maturity, ability and need.  There are no purposeless afflictions.  Nor are they arbitrary or random.  They are individual and specific to each of us.

1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

Though our " temptation" or more accurately "trial" can be listed in a plethora of trials available, OUR trial is specific to US.  As there are no cooky - cutter blessing and no recipes for endurance, there are no cooky - cutter afflictions.  Each and every affliction is specific to the individual facing it.  Each affliction is "special."

Trials are common to all men but our trial is our trial.  It is packed in with all our "baggage" which gives it that unique flavor.  Because of this a lot of the "encouragement" we're offered sounds terribly hollow.  People lovingly seek to encourage us and it is a kindness but we always have the , "Yes, BUT....." in the back of our minds.  It is, I believe, true that,  " Nobody knows the trouble I've seen, nobody knows but Jesus."  They may have had a similar experience but MY trouble is MY trouble.  Yes?????

We need to own our trials and know them as well as possible.  They need to be prayerfully examined and not just accepted on face value.  As we examine them we will see the dynamic of the trial...the components and secondary causes and we can then pray with greater wisdom and insight concerning them.  Trust me, ignorant prayers, though acceptable, are not nearly as useful as prayer born out of deep and meaningful reflection.  Especially concerning the trials and afflictions we face.

We do so need wisdom in affliction and we are promised that His wisdom is available for the asking.  BUT when we ask we need to purpose to use it!  It does us no good to ask and receive if we do not plan to do the wisdom work. That means we have to sit down, perhaps with pen and paper, and really consider our affliction within the context of our redemption and our abiding sin.  I fear that this is the only way we can gain a solid and meaningful understanding and  appreciation of the circumstances we find ourselves in.  It ain't magical folks, it all takes our cooperator with the work of the Holy Spirit.  This isn't about "works" but it is about "work."
I'm not done with this passage but will end this at this point to allow you time to prayerfully consider what has been offered here.  I pray that you will grow in knowledge, understanding and appreciation of all God has done, is doing and will do in your life that it will glorify His name and bring peace to your soul.

Michael

Four Things Part 1 082514

As we cast our eye over it, we observe that what Elijah needed to be taught was (1) dependence on God; (2) fellowship with man in his sufferings; (3) confidence in God’s plans ; and (4) a sense of their essential and broad mercifulness.       Warfield, B. B. (2013-11-13). Faith & Life (Kindle Locations 66-67). GLH Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Warfield beautifully explains the curriculum of God’s school as it can be applied to Elijah and to ourselves.  Though I encourage to get and read the book Faith and Life by Warfield I’d like to sent some time reflecting of the four things God was teaching Elijah as they might be applied to our lives.

Keep in mind that Warfield has explained the as far as we can tell from the record, Elijah was in a grueling course of “on the job training,”  He was learning as he went and the key thing to remember is the he “went.”  That is fundamental if not essential for all of us to understand.  “Following,” is the key to discipleship.  Not observing the Master, not evaluating the Master but following the Master is the key.  We will be taught when we need to be and as we need to be.  That is the promise we find again and again in the lives of God’s people in the Word.

The fist lesson, and the lesson that if not learned nullifies all the others is, I think, two fold.  First we must learn that God is dependable and second we much learn to depend upon Him.  Neither lesson is easy to truly learn.

Certainly we can see in the evidence of the Word that God has demonstrated His dependability.  But for many of us it is a dependability that is abstract.  We see that He is dependable in the lives of others but that’s no guarantee we will really see Him as dependable in our own lives.  It a tough thing to go from seeing God’s faithfulness to Israel to seeing His faithfulness to us - to ME.

One reason I think we struggle so much with that old, “I know He is faithful, but...” is that we are so very used to considering faithfulness in terms f big things that we miss the commonness of His faithfulness.  He is “commonly” faithful is so may mundane way that are so easy for us to ignore. It is in the really tough times when we discover both His faithfulness and our tottering dependence upon Him.

“God is dependable and I depend upon Him,’ is a great statement but really, ask yourself, how TRUE is that statement in your mind and heart?  Do you really believe that He is dependable?  Are you willing to surrender your plans, ideas, schemes, etc., and yield to His providence in all things?

I know I thought I was but I learned real quick how flighty my faith - my dependence - my trust in Him was.  The past year and a half have taught me just how unreasonable, prideful and self-absorbed my dependence upon Him was (and still is to some extent).  Nothing in the past year and a half has gone according to our plan and yet as we look back we can see that it certainly has gone according to someone’s plan - we of course assume it was His plan.

We have learned to calmly suffer chaos and confusion because we have see Him provide and direct in the midst of the chaos.  He didn’t make the chaos go away He simply acted within it to bring about blessings and peace.

So how do we grow in our dependence upon Him - upon the conviction that he is dependable?

Ahhh, well that’s for the future - we’ll get to it next.