Now, what does steadfastness mean? It means in the face of difficulty, I do not abandon that direction, and I do not forsake that purpose. Now I cant work that up in myself. That heart, that steadfast heart, is only ever the product of the operation of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that grace comes to me (Are you ready for this?) in uncomfortable forms. The principle is, ‘God will take you where you havent intended to go in order to produce in you what you could not achieve on your own.’ That’s grace, and we need to be comforting and encouraging one another with the theology of uncomfortable grace because in this time when you need to be refined, often the grace of the Lord will come to you in uncomfortable forms. Thats why James says, “You can look at those trials and experience joy,” because those trials are no longer, to you, a sign of Gods unfaithfulness and inattention; those trials are a sure sign of His transforming love and His amazing grace. Now, you cant look at that without reflecting on this. Isnt it true that the way you respond to difficulty will always reveal whats important to you? The way you respond to trial will always expose the true values of your heart. I wish I could say that I always have a response of deep joy to the difficulty in my life--but I dont! This was a hard passage for me to study this week because I had to say to my Lord, “Please forgive me, because I think very often I would rather be comfortable than holy. I would rather have a schedule that works than be refined. I would rather be affirmed by people than to live in a way that pleases you. Forgive me for many times where I am dissatisfied with Your grace, and I would give way to thinking that my way is better than Your way.”
Posted on: Sat, 28 Jun 2014 17:51:31 +0000
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