by Alice Smith
"Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence [is] fulness of joy; at thy right hand [there are] pleasures for evermore" Ps. 16:11.
Have you ever experienced such deep hurt that you were almost paralyzed with pain? The great Charles H. Spurgeon, in his devotional masterpiece Days of Darkness, said, "We need winds and storms to exercise our faith, to tear off the rotten branches of self dependence, and to ground us more firmly in Christ … The dearest of His children must bear the cross. No believer has enjoyed perpetual prosperity." 1
Conflict brings to the surface what is not of God. Our flesh nature is usually the first to respond to hurt and reveals our self-love. Once we recognize the difference between the flesh and the spirit, we are able to recognize the signs of death operating in us. We can fully recognize death in our flesh by the "stink," because nothing fresh is coming from us.
God promises us that "His mercies are new every morning" (Lam. 3:23). When God produced manna to feed the Children of Israel during their desert wandering, the manna appeared fresh every morning. It had an extremely short shelf life; it became stale in only one day. In the same way, our faith requires a resurrection every morning; yesterday’s victories will not sustain us for today’s challenges. We need new revelation each day.
Life’s difficulties should remind us that death to self is necessary for our sanctification. Our separation from soulishness is like a snake shedding its skin–uncomfortable but necessary. When the old skin drops off, there is new soft skin in its place. Our soul has to experience a similar sloughing off so that it won’t hinder our spiritual development.
Thankfully, there are stages in our spiritual life when we won’t experience any storms. Yet, when crisis does arise our response will instantly reveal upon whom we are relying. If we have been learning to worship and trust the Lord, even though the crisis takes us to the breaking point, we will not break. Our confidence in the Father will not fail.
Sanctification will have its way in us. Our oneness with the Lord will allow us to rest in Him, and our ability to rest in the Lord will bring joy to His heart and healing to our own.
Did you know that the Christian life is seasonal? That’s right. Just as the earth experiences winter, spring, summer and fall, you too will have seasons in your spiritual life. In the autumn season the days grow shorter and cooler; the leaves begin to turn color and fall as the ground becomes dormant. You too will experience a fall season when the motions of your relationship with Christ begin to cool. That’s when the Father will begin to purge your soul and the dead things in your life will fall aside. Your prayer time will focus on personal sin and the acknowledgement of character flaws that need to change.
Then there is the winter of your Christian walk when everything around you feels dead. The spiritual ground is frozen hard. Meaningful prayer seems almost impossible. You struggle to hear the Lord speak. Dormancy comes. Don’t despair–this is normal. Although your mind isn’t able to conjure up prayer activity, your heart is eager to tune in to hear His voice. The important thing to do is remain faithful in the winter of your life.
During springtime the flowers begin to bloom, grass grows, the air is fresh and birds sing. There is new life everywhere. In your spiritual springtime, the Word of God comes alive to you and revelation is fresh once more. Joy floods your heart.
And then you experience the summer. Prophecy comes alive as the brightness of God’s glory surrounds you. Worship is powerful and His voice is strong and clear.
Are you in a time of trouble today? Have hurts invaded your life? Do you feel numb, almost dead in your heart? Are you asking, where is the Lord? If He doesn’t seem to be speaking, don’t be discouraged. "If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small" (Prov. 24:10). Your natural inclination is to struggle, strain and strive. My friend, this is the test of your faith. This is your exam. The teacher never talked when proctoring an exam, and so it is with the Lord. God never talks during the test. But once the test is over He will comfort your troubled soul. There is no need to be anxious.
It is a win-win situation. Sometimes the Lord calms the storm and sometimes He calms His child in the midst of the storm.
When you process the seasons of life properly by focusing on Christ and His glory, you will past the test–with integrity as the result. Without tests, you will never see the Lord. Without seeing the Lord you will never reach your destiny in Him.
Rather than defend yourself today, embrace humility; then you will grow in the grace of God and He will fight for you!
Note
1. Charles H. Spurgeon, Daily Devotionals, Days of Darkness, http://www.heartlight.org; http://www.heartlight.org/spurgeon/0429-am.html