“Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” (Jer. 33:3)
How many times has your problem seemed too big for God, or perhaps not big enough to be of any consequence to Him, not big enough to be noticed or brought before Him? We tend to think in this way, these small trials, that little bit of suffering doesn’t seem as if its right or proper to bring before the Lord, it is a type of “I don’t want to bother Him with such a small thing,” almost as if it would be a bother or inconvenience to come to His throne and interrupt all those important things He is doing. “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)
Not just the big things, but all things. Some who think this way do not realize that there are no “big things” for the Lord of glory, nothing is above or beneath Him when it comes to His children, but there are two items we must always keep in mind, He is not a “magic genie” to be called upon, He is not our “fix all and then I’ll call you when I need you again” God. And we must be able to see when these items are set upon us for our growth towards His glory.
Many of those in the first group cannot understand the second statement offered here, they see all pain, all suffering as an inconvenience, as a deterrent to the continuation of the life that they want to live, and not as the possibility of growth in the assurance of His care for us. They want to be healed, not experience 2 Timothy 3:12, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” They want the bad things to stay away, they want to live their life as they see fit, and for God to accept that. These offer little in the way of true praise but are always seeking for instant help when the adverse conditions arise.
They attempt to use God for their own selfish purposes, and they expect Him to arrive at their beck and call when these troubles arrive.
Those in the second spectrum do not desire these trials and tribulations, they do not go about searching for them, but they also do not seek immediate relief when they do arrive. The first thing they do is seek the face of God in how He can be glorified when they do arrive. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 is always at the forefront of their thoughts, and they do not need or expect the Lord to offer a reason for whatever adverse conditions arrive in their lives. There is a reason, it is for good, and it is not just accepted and then “struggled” through, but rejoiced in.
These are not the generalized thoughts of most who claim Christ today, “Did not He give us doctors,” “Are we not told to pray for each other to be healed,” to many “All things happen for good” looks too much to them as a defeatist mentality, a “Just accept it and keep struggling on” type of life. There is very little praise in such a life, but quite a lot of “quite complaining,” so to speak.
No one wants pain, no one wants or seeks for suffering of any form as a way of life in service for Christ, it would not be accepted if they did, but there is the fellowship of His suffering (Phil. 3:10) and I believe it is offered to all but rejected by most. We are not to live a defeated life in this area, nor are we to seek for instant relief, but we are to accept all that the Lord lays before us as good, and in the humblest way possible find it in ourselves to offer Him praise no matter what it is that He allows. There is a reason, there is always a reason, we are not to seek for answers continuously, but to praise Him for allowing us to experience that which is meant, no matter what it is, to draw us closer to Him, to rely on Him even greater with each passing day. When we do so, He is glorified.
