Of Grace under Trials

On Sunday morning, while waiting for my church service to begin, I noticed a guy walk into church with the help of a walking crutch. For a minute, I couldn’t place the guy in my memory, but then I recalled he was the same person who had met with a severe accident couple of months ago. 

Watching him walk across the room with the crutch, released a flood of memories in my mind. I immediately recalled the phase when I walked about with the help of an elbow crutch. Of course, mine was a minor accident compared to his, just torn ligaments in my ankle and badly bruised bones. It took me a couple of months to get back on my feet. Literally!! 

Those days constantly reminded me of my frailty and how much grace I needed to go through it alone. The day I met with the accident was the day I got confirmed in my new job. Looking at the severity of my injury, I knew instantly, I had lost my job. I was job hunting those days so I knew what I had lost. And six months earlier, I had undergone two dental surgeries back to back within a span of two months. That put a considerable toll on my health. 

Now, with the ankle injury, I was battling a lot of emotions. I was confused wondering what went wrong. But praise God for His word. Truly, it is a light unto your path. James clearly says that we will face trials of all kinds and this is to only to build up my faith. (James 1:2-4) He calls us to have an attitude of joy! Christ has promised that His grace is always sufficient in any trial we go through. (2 Corinthians 12:9a)

Paul experienced that promise when he suffered under a great trial of having the thorn in his flesh. He prayed thrice to God to have it removed, but Christ only said, “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Cor.12:9)

I always marvel at Paul’s response to this promise of Christ, "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2 Cor.12:9c). This is true grace manifested in our weak bodies! 

I have known believers who have survived a car wreck and underwent several operations. I have seen their godly response to such deep suffering. I have seen Christ’s grace manifested not just in their attitude towards suffering but in the humble acceptance in what God in His immense wisdom has allowed to pass. I saw this same attitude in the person I mentioned in the beginning of this post. 

I am humbled and at the same time marvel at God’s ways. This in my sight is truly a miracle!!

Christ the Giver of All Things.

I have been going through 2 Samuel in my daily reading and as I came across one line, it made me stop and think. I was reading Chapter 8 that talk about David’s victories. Verse 6b says, “And the LORD gave victory to David wherever he went” It could have been framed any other way like, “David was victorious” or “David had victory wherever he went”. But scripture is specific and gives credit to God. So did David as we see in verse 11.

So do we give credit to when we have victories? It could be an exam done well, or an appraisal at work based on your hard work or even the ability to understand the Word and apply in your life. Let us not forget the giver of all things.

The Psalm that comes to my mind right now is Ps 127:1-2

“Unless the LORD builds the house,

Those who build it labor in vain.

Unless the LORD watches over the city ,

The watchman stays awake in vain.

It is in vain that you rise up early and

Go late to rest,

Eating the bread of anxious toil;

For He gives to His beloved sleep.

So have you thanked the Lord for all your victories?

Where do you stand today in your Christian Walk?

I am always freaked out when I need to get an evaluation done. Whether it was for education, sports or health. An evaluation is the revelation of truth. I always know that the results will show me where I exactly stand. Sometimes it is good, other times not that great. But how ever disappointing an evaluation can be, I would know my weak areas and thus be able to work on it.

It’s the same with our Christian walk. We need to evaluate ourselves with the word of God and see where we stand. Are we still babies in the Christian faith, or have we grown? Do we daily delight in spending time studying His word and in prayer? Any specific sin areas in your life you have asked the Lord to help you conquer?

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise” Eph 5 : 15

Therefore let us be careful of how we live our life as we are living it unto the Lord. There will be a lot of hard questions we might have to ask ourselves to really figure out where we stand in our Christian walk. But that is the only way we can move forward in the faith.

A RIGHT RESPONSE TO TRIALS

      We had done this study in our women's meeting a while back. As I was going through the notes again I was encouraged by the following verses.

      God brings trials in the Christian’s life for many different reasons. How we respond to it, reflects our view of God. The followings verses can help us think truth in our heart about God during our  trials.

         God uses trials in the believer’s life to:       

1.   Produce endurance in us.

 James 1:3 “For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness”

   2.       To conform us to the image of His Son.

Romans 8:29-30 “For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son in order that He might be the first born among many brothers. And those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom he called, He also justified and those whom He justified, He also glorified.”

 3.       To make us mature and complete and lacking in nothing.

James 1:4 “And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete lacking in nothing.”

 4.       To produce greater fruitfulness in us as God prunes us. Remember how close the gardener is to us as He prunes us!

John 15:1-2 “I am the true vine and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit He takes away and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes that it may bear more fruit.”

 5.       To grow us in perseverance proven character and hope.

Romans 5:3-4 “ More than that we rejoice in our sufferings knowing that suffering produce endurance, and endurance produces character and character produces hope”

 6.       To teach us His comfort-so that we might comfort others with that comfort.

2 Cor 1:3-4 “ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 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.”

Prayer!

“Prayer does change things, all kinds of things. But the most important thing it changes is us. As we engage in this communion with God more deeply and come to know the One with whom we are speaking more intimately, that growing knowledge of God reveals to us all the more brilliantly who we are and our need to change in conformity to Him. Prayer changes us profoundly.”- R.C.Sproul

A good prayer!

Unmask to me sin's deformity, that I may hate it, abhor it, flee from it... Let me never forget that heinousness of sin lies not so much in the nature of the sin committed, as in the greatness of the person sinned against.

A good prayer by the puritans which clearly brings out the seriousness of sin and how much it offends our Holy God! It torments me to think how lightly I view sin. It is my sin that put Christ on the cross. A violent bloody death.

Help me dear God to have your perspective on sin and abhor it greatly!

Grant me never to lose sight of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, the exceeding righteousness of salvation, the exceeding glory of Christ, the exceeding beauty of holiness, the exceeding wonder of grace.

Weary soldier??

As soldiers of Christ, we must constantly remember, we are up against a lot of things. We are waging a war against the assaults of the flesh on our souls. "Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh which wage war against your soul." 1 Peter 2:11

Then, there are the onslaughts of the Enemy, the temptations, the various trials. As pilgrims, we get weary and tired. At times, discouraged! We need to remember that this is a good fight. The good fight of faith!

Jesus is the Captain of our salvation(Heb.2:10b) and the founder and perfecter of our faith (Heb.12:2a). We must look to JESUS, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame. We must run the race that is set before us with endurance. We must lay ASIDE every WEIGHT and the SIN which clings so CLOSELY. (Heb.12:1-2)

Let us with the apostle together say, "But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead. I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13b-14

New Job...New trials...Renewed Hope

Its been almost 3 weeks at my new job. I don't even know how the weeks have flown by. It was like just yesterday that i said good bye to my friends at MIT Design and here i am today in the IT industry. If you would ask me how the journey has been since then; I really don't know what to say.I have had mixed emotions. Times of joy and times of sorrow. I know that its the initial time and it will pass soon. But the journey seems so long.

The only thing that keeps me going is that my God is in complete control of every situation. He knows why He has placed me here. Sometimes everything seems so overwhelming that you you just want to run away. But to know that in any trial we are not alone,He is always with me and He never leaves me. At this new job I feel really lonely as its taking me a while to make friends and people here are more into their work. But at these times I have realized that its only my Lord Jesus who will be my faithful friend. I have sung the song “What a friend we have in Jesus” many a times. But the last few days the truths in those verses have been more dear to me.

I praise God for saving me and giving me a new life. To know that I have hope and as it says in 2 Peter 1:3-4 that He has given me all things pertaining to life godliness. All i need to do is completely depend on Him.

This new place, new people and new trials are gonna reveal more of my weak areas which will show me every single day as to how helpless I am on my own and thus will make me go to the cross every day.

Thank you Jesus for a being a compassionate friend, patient, loving and always faithful. Thank you for your perfect sacrifice and that in you I have eternal life.

Waiting for Christ's return

“The true Scriptural source of consolation, in the face of all that troubles us, is to keep steadily before our eyes the second coming of Christ.

We must grasp and realize the blessed fact that the rightful King of the world is returning soon, and shall have His own again; that He shall put down that old usurper, the devil, and take away the curse from off the earth.

Let us cultivate the habit of daily looking forward to the resurrection of the dead, the gathering together of the saints, the restitution of all things, the banishment of sorrow and sin, and the re-establishment of a new kingdom, of which the rule shall be righteousness.”

J.C.Ryle-"Looking Unto Jesus"

Mighty possession!

In my morning devotions, while reading through the prayer of Hannah, some verses were directly pointing to God's character. (1 Samuel 2: 1-10)
v2 There is none holy like the LORD; there is none besides You; there is no rock like our God.

Think about it, our God ALONE is holy and there is no one in this universe or the entire galaxy who is like our God! And He is our God through Jesus Christ! What a great possession we have.

As His children, we are ..."heirs of God and fellow heirs, with Christ" Romans 8:17a. Hence, we can cry out with the prophet, "The LORD is my portion," says my soul "therefore I will hope in him." Lam.3:24

These Inward Trials- John Newton

I asked the Lord, that I might grow
In faith, and love, and every grace;
Might more of His salvation know,
And seek more earnestly His face.

I hoped that in some favored hour
At once He’d answer my request,
and by His love’s constraining power
Subdue my sins, and give me rest.

Instead of this, He made me feel
the hidden evils of my heart;
And let the angry powers of hell
Assault my soul in every part.

Yea more, with His own hand He seemed
Intent to aggravate my woe;
Crossed all the fair designs I schemed,
Blasted my gourds, and laid me low.

‘Lord, why is this?’ I trembling cried,
`Wilt thou pursue Thy worm to death?’
`This in this way,’ the Lord replied,
`I answer prayer for grace and faith.

These inward trials I employ
From self and pride to set thee free;
And break thy schemes of earthly joy,
That thou mayst seek thy all in Me.’

By John Newton

Unsearchable Riches!!

The following post is a devotion by Charles Spurgeon. Read and be blessed.

"The unsearchable riches of Christ." Ephesians 3:8

My Master has riches beyond the count of arithmetic, the measurement of reason, the dream of imagination, or the eloquence of words. They are unsearchable! You may look, and study, and weigh, but Jesus is a greater Saviour than you think him to be when your thoughts are at the
greatest.

My Lord is more ready to pardon than you to sin, more able to forgive than you to transgress. My Master is more willing to supply your wants than you are to confess them. Never tolerate low thoughts of my Lord Jesus. When you put the crown on his head, you will only crown
him with silver when he deserves gold.

My Master has riches of happiness to bestow upon you now. He can make you to lie down in green pastures, and lead you beside still waters. There is no music like the music of his pipe, when he is the Shepherd and you are the sheep, and you lie down at his feet. There is no love like his, neither earth nor heaven can match it.

To know Christ and to be found in him-oh! this is life, this is joy, this is marrow and fatness, wine on the lees well refined. My Master does not treat His servants churlishly; He gives to them as a king giveth to a king; He gives them two heavens-a heaven below in serving Him here, and a heaven above in delighting in Him for ever.

His unsearchable riches will be best known in eternity. He will give you on the way to heaven all you need; your place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks, your bread shall be given you, and your waters shall be sure; but it is there, THERE, where you shall hear the song of them that triumph, the shout of them that feast, and shall have a face-to-face view of the glorious and beloved One.

The unsearchable riches of Christ! This is the tune for the minstrels of earth, and the song for the harpers of heaven. Lord, teach us more and more of Jesus, and we will tell out the good news to others.

On the discipline of commitment

While reading the book on 'The Discipline of Grace' by Jerry Bridges, there were certain things that deeply convicted me. It was on the discipline of commitment. The following sentences are taken from this book.

The Discipline of Commitment:
'I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws.' Psalm 119:106

"When we commit ourselves to the pursuit of holiness, we need to ensure that our commitment is actually to God, not simply to a holy lifestyle or a set of moral values."
'Therefore I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God- this is your spiritual act of worship'. Romans 12:1

"When we sin we are more vexed at the lowering of our self-esteem than we are grieved at God's dishonor. We are surprised and irritated at our own lack of self-control in subjecting ourselves to unworthy habits.....The first cause is self-love, which is unable to stand the disappointment of not seeing ourselves in time of trial come out beautiful, erect and admirable."

William Law in his classic, 'A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life, said, "And if you will here stop, and ask yourself, why you are not as [holy] as the primitive Christians were, your own heart will tell you, that it is neither through ignorance, nor inability, but purely because you never thoroughly intended it.

This doctrine does not suppose, that we have no need of divine grace, or that it is in our power to make ourselves perfect. It only supposes, that through the [lack] of a sincere intention of pleasing God in all our actions, we fall into such irregularities of life, as by the ordinary means of grace, we should have power to avoid."

Being gracious!

"Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends." Proverbs 17:9

This verse took me by surprise. So much wisdom hidden in God's word. Truly, "The unfolding of Your word gives light." As sinners, we are bound to hurt/get hurt and offend/get offended by our fellow believers on various occasions. It takes much grace and humility not to hold it against the one who has sinned against us.

When we deliberately 'choose' to conceal another person's sinful act committed against us, we seek love in the truest sense. We need to be wise in order to estimate whether the offense against us need to be considered.

I think, this offers a great opportunity for the believer(sinned against) to exercise forgiveness and emulate Christ Jesus our Lord! Whereas the sinning believer learns how to receive mercy and helps him/her to reconsider his/her sinful ways.

There is power, tremendous power in forgiveness. It gives a chance for the person to change. Grace is magnetic in its influence! But, if we repeat that particular matter and make it a point of discussion, it brings about separation. Maybe, one might get the desired justice, but a friend is lost in the process.

What a heavy price to pay!!
"A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city." Proverbs 18:19a

Where we Shrink to our True Size.

“Every time we look at the cross Christ seems to say to us, ‘I am here because of you. It is your sin I am bearing, your curse I am suffering, your debt I am paying, your death I am dying.’ Nothing in history or in the universe cuts us down to size like the cross. All of us have inflated views of ourselves, especially in self-righteousness, until we have visited a place called Calvary. It is there, at the foot of the cross, that we shrink to our true size.”

—John Stott, The Message of Galatians (London: IVP, 1968), 179