The Finishing Work

 A couple weeks ago I was in the hospital with my parents. My dad had fallen off a ladder and severely broke a vertebra in his back, broke several ribs and a toe. He was in severe pain and we were unsure at that time how it would all turn out. My mom made a comment about why we don't see more miracles. Why can't we pray a prayer of healing, in faith, and have the doctors come in and wonder what happened? 'This man's back is not broken! No cracked ribs! What is wrong with our X-ray machine?'

God spoke to me in that moment and the answer that became so obvious to me is this: It's because we are a culture---a generation---that needs to learn perseverance.

I've been going through a lot lately. Life got real and life got hard this past year. Covid certainly played a role but all the stress I was absorbing because of the shift in our world in 2020 seemed like a dream when the challenges got really personal last fall. My whole reality was shaken, my self-image was shaken, my pride was revealed, my faith put to the test. And I got real up-close with God. The question we all face in times of crisis is, 'what am I really made of?'; 'How am I going to handle this?'

Here in America we are a culture that is defined by instant gratification. We want it our way and we want it now! We are not the generation that need those kind of miracles...the lame to walk and sight to the blind. We would outright reject it with reason! We would mock it! We would take it for granted. We'd get our miracle and turn around and give credit to something else! We would turn around and complain about our privilege.

Here in America, we need to learn steadfastness; we need to learn perseverance; we need to learn faith, hope & love. We don't need more instant gratification. That's the last thing we need!

James says, “Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. And perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (Jms1)

Paul wrote in Romans that “we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance produces character; character produces hope and hope does not put us to shame.” (Rms5)

In 2 Corinthians we are reminded not to lose heart because “our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all...this is why we fix our eyes not what is seen but what is unseen since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2Cor4)

To Timothy he wrote that “if we endure, we will reign with Christ” (2Tim2)

Our calling in all things is to hold on to faith in Christ and to love...because God is Love. And when trials come—when your world is shaken, when illness comes, when death comes, when those closest to you betray you, when you've fallen off a ladder and break your back—when you're daddy has fallen off a ladder and broken his back...when trial after trial and bad news after bad news seems to be targeting you... and you're not sure how to react in the rush of all that adrenaline, that emotion, that fear—the answer is always to keep the faith, to keep hope and to love.

And we know that “Love is patient and kind...it does not envy...it is not self-seeking, or easily angered and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love always protects, trusts, hopes and it always PERSEVERES.” (1Cor13) Love is the one thing that the Bible says never fails. Because He is love and He never fails.

This does not come naturally to us. When life gets hard...it is our natural inclination to do the exact opposite of this. We get REALLY impatient. We get short with others and treat them badly. We look at the lives of others and long for the lack of chaos we see in their lives and maybe even get a little upset that they have it so easy. We get really focused on ourselves and our own pain and forget that others have needs and troubles too. We get angry and we list to God and others all the injustices we perceive in our lives—how we've been wronged. We complain and despair and want to give up. But God has not called us to this kind of life! If we want to triumph...we must rise up! We must see our trials as an opportunity to be more like Christ who suffered many things FOR ME. Who sacrificed his own comfort for MY sin. Who forgave MY utter depravity just because.

I may not always act rightly but I cannot just give up and let the pain be wasted. These are exactly the times in which we have the GREATEST opportunity to be molded into Christ's image! Peter writes about this and reminds us that “since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same mind...rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you also may be glad with exceeding joy.” (1Pet4)

Bad things...suffering...tragedy...other people's sin...death...illness are not things God wants for us but when they happen I know that they are the struggles that He (in his Divine understanding) has allowed in my life and therefore...if He has allowed it...it serves a higher purpose and I must take the perspective that good can and will come from it.

Even in my hardest moments, I want to be like King David who sang, “Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord...I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His Word I do hope” (Ps130) “My eyes are upon You, O God the Lord; In You I take Refuge” (Ps141) “My flesh and my heart may fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Ps73) I want to strive toward and live out what James admonishes us to. “Be patient until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand...we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.” (Jms5)