Dear Missionary Lady,
Greetings in the name of the Master Potter, the One who is constantly molding and shaping us for His glory. Following is the next-to-last section in my study on praying during suffering. (Although the entire study has been a great blessing to me, this section might be my favorite. It fills me with awe for my God.)
Category Eleven – Spiritual Profit
“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers
temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But
let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting
nothing” (James 1:2-4). “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also:
knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and
experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed
abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” (Romans 5:3-5).
Both James and Paul share the same truth, a truth that is fundamental to the Christian walk. They both speak of rejoicing within trials, and it is a rejoicing based on knowledge of what God does through suffering. God uses it in His molding and maturation process. In the past few years I have come to appreciate these verses as never before. I am realizing the truth that suffering is not a minor tool in God’s toolbox; rather, it is the primary way that He develops maturity. If God wants to mold and mature a man, this is how He does it. Growth is not merely a resultant or accompanying happenstance of suffering; it is a designed and primary purpose. It is not surprising then that Peter declares suffering to be necessary. “Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations” (I Peter 1:6).
Trials are not easy, and our flesh suffers through the challenges, but we can find hope in the knowledge that our spirit flourishes. “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” (II Corinthians 4:16). As we cooperate with God’s methods, we find improvement in all the ways that matter most.
The ultimate end of that improvement, of the increased maturity, is to transform us into people who reflect the image of Christ and thereby honor Him. God uses all things, including what seems difficult for us, to accomplish that purpose. “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. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:28-29).
As impossible as it seems, suffering was of benefit even to the Savior. “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; and being made perfect" (Hebrews 5:8-9). Likewise, God intends for our holiness to grow through discipline. “But he [chastens] for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness” (Hebrews 12:10). Sin should be rooted out and our lives be more reflective of our Savior. “For he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin” (I Peter 4:1).
One way of illustrating suffering’s maturing work is the production of fruit. “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby,” (Hebrews 12:11). We bloom and flourish afterwards with the beautiful results of God’s Spirit working in us. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance” (Galatians 5:22-23).
A second picture is that of refining precious metal. “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire” (I Peter 1:7). “But he knoweth the way I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10). God is in the process of burning off impurities. Yes, the heat is intense, but it is also very effective. We go into the fire with so many imperfections, but God progressively purifies and removes the imperfections, so that we gradually become purer, more valuable, and more precious.
“But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, and settle you” (I Peter 5:10). This is one of my favorite verses regarding suffering. That is partly due to the reassurance that the time is coming when God will step in more evidently and do His work. Although it may take a while for me to see positive results, God is intent on producing them, and He will do it. He will tie up all the loose ends and bring the suffering to its intended conclusion of profit. The other thought I love about the verse is the enumeration of what God does: perfecting, establishing, strengthening, and settling. I have often been aware that these results are exactly what I need, because in the midst of the suffering, I am the opposite of these results. Until God does His concluding work, I am battered and incomplete, I am wavering and doubtful, I am weak and unsteady, and I am shallow and faltering. In the middle of the intense suffering, it can seem like everything in me is ready to fall apart and disintegrate, but in the end, God shores it all up and makes it stronger and deeper and firmer than ever.
When I began considering how to pray during suffering, this is the category of prayers that I first pursued. I wanted results, and I wanted them to be the results that God desired. In one way, this is a self-centered category, as it focuses on what I want God to do in me. But in actuality, this category is also God-centered, because the growth and maturity are not primarily about me. They are for bringing glory to God and for reflecting Him. Regarding the fiery ordeal that is for our testing, Peter observes, “For the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you” (I Peter 4:14).
“Father, help me to constantly remember that suffering is Your necessary and preferred method for producing maturity. Please progressively renew my spirit. Use all things, especially my suffering, to make me more like Your Son. May my sinful nature decrease and my holiness increase as a result of my suffering. Produce in me the beautiful fruit that You desire. Purify me so that I shine as pure gold, delivered from the imperfections that plague me. I long for Your finalizing work when You will restore and strengthen me beyond what I have ever been before. May it honestly be said at the end of this trial that You have transformed me into a more mature Christian. May You be magnified and glorified through what You produce in me.”
Love in Christ,
Peggy Holt
member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA
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