Unmerited Suffering

A man once said, "Why should I be cheated of my money when I am doing the right thing in the sight of God? As a child of God shouldn't I be getting for what I worked for? When I am being right, why am I wronged?"

This is agony of the soul for being right yet suffering loss. This is bad and it shouldn't be happening. Why should God allow such things to happen for His child who trusts Him wholly? Questions such as these linger in the hearts and minds of men and women of God who choose to follow His will. The question is very perplexing to the soul trying to understand the reason for an unmerited suffering.

However, the Bible has an answer. Unmerited suffering is a part of Christian life. Unless we change our notion that 'by being right we will not endure hardships and will be overflowing with blessings', we will find our souls go through a merry-go-round.

1 Peter 3:17 (NASB)
For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.

The Bible is very clear on this. If it is God's will, we should be ready to suffer for being right rather than suffer by doing wrong. Going through an unmerited suffering by being right before God is much more glorious than being wrong before Him.

The Special Task

Do you know that every child of God has a special role to play in His kingdom? No matter your education or your professional background, no matter your age or skills and abilities, there is a specific and unique role which God has got for each one of His child. As you grow more in the Lord and as you move close to Him, the Lord will reveal His special purpose and plan to you.

This role or vision is something that only you are destined to do and if you do not take the step it remains undone. Your role is significant no matter if it is recognized or appreciated by people or not. God will use you for His glory and He will glorify you at the same time by giving you a joy and satisfaction that the purpose of your life on earth is met. This joy and satisfaction is something that the world cannot offer you.

May you draw close to God to know His will and purpose for you. But do not expect things to happen immediately. He has His way of carrying out His plan for you. Just be sensitive to His Spirit to yield and do what the Spirit of God inspires you to do. He will carry it out as per His perfect timing and in spectacular ways.

Ephesians 2:10 (New Living Translation)
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Light for each step

Many a time we make so many plans regarding our future and for the present hoping that they should happen without any problems or risks. Planning is good and an essential part of life. However, the book of Proverbs suggest that we submit our plans to God and not to depend just on our limited knowledge and understanding...

Proverbs 3:5-6 (New International Version)

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

6 in all your ways submit to him,

and he will make your paths straight.

As we submit our plans, thought process to God, we need to wait until the Lord gives us directions or indications to move forward. One may wonder how does the Lord show any sign? It may come as arrangement of circumstances or even with human intervention throwing light to our plans or thought process. Whichever way it may be, the Lord has His way of revealing to His will to children, especially to those who wait for Him...

When doing His will...

There are times when we would have done something believing it to be God's will and face negative outcomes instead of positive results. Those times we may even wonder why did we have to face such negative results in spite of doing God's will.

God asks Moses to go to Pharaoh and instruct him to let the people of Israel go. But when Pharaoh hears this for the first time, he gets very angry and imposes more burden on the tasks that people of Israel do. When Moses hears this news, he implores with the Lord his burdened heart.

Exodus 5:22-23 (New International Version)

Moses returned to the LORD and said, "O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon this people? Is this why you sent me? 23 Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble upon this people, and you have not rescued your people at all."

Thinking in human ways Moses expected that doing God's will would yield positive outcome. He was not able to see that God has His own way of fulfilling His plan. It look a long time for Moses to understand that the plans and purposes of God cannot be thwarted.

So it is in our case many times. We do not understand that God has His own way of fulfilling His promises in our lives. And He does that in His own terms and ways and not ours...

One step at a time

Psalm 143:10 (New International Version)

Teach me to do your will,

for you are my God;

may your good Spirit

lead me on level ground.

Many times we may think or presume what we are doing is right. We may think that we are doing exactly as God's wants us to do. But only when we face the negative outcomes or consequences of our decisions or actions, will we know that we have mistaken God's will. Every step of our life, be it decisions or actions, we need ask the Lord if what we presume is under His will. If we are still clueless, it is better we pause before we do anything out of impulsions. Impulsive decisions and actions show lack of trust or patience. Deep down we may be assuming that God is silent, He won't do anything on our behalf and so we have to decide or act to make things work. But that is a wrong conclusion.

God never fails to guide His children. Whether it is a pause, proceed or not to proceed, God does lead His children. But we need to be careful to follow the divine order, otherwise we may be doing the wrong things and face its consequences.

God's call and time

Many children of God assume that promises of God are received immediately without the waiting period. The Lord allows the waiting period purposefully to shape certain characters in us. This goes the same for doing God's work too. Moses had to wait 40 years and do the work of the shepherd (Exodus 3:1) before becoming the channel of deliverance for Egypt. Apostle Paul had to wait 3 yrs in Damascus before he went to get acquainted with the other apostles.

Likewise men and women of God who are in full ministry today testify that they had to wait, years before they really started doing God's work. And those who wait for God's will and time are never disappointed. Once the Lord builds the qualities He desires to see in His children, He reveals His plans and purposes to them.

The Word of God says,

Amos 3:7 (New Living Translation)

Indeed, the Sovereign Lord never does anything

until he reveals his plans to his servants the prophets.

Let us no grow weary waiting on the Lord. Let us be sure of this, that He is working in us to prepare for His great work through us...

Knowing Him more naturally

Most of the times we hold some perceptions about God and His ways and we stick to them very strongly. We at times do not want to change our views for we believe them to be spiritual. How much ever we would have learned from the Lord, there are still many horizons which are new and we should be willing to learn them.

Once Rev. Selwyn Hughes testified that when he was in a dilemma, God cleared them to him not through the Word or by an inner voice but from a sparrow in a nest. Likewise we should be open to God to lead us in His way and be open to know Him even through simple or natural ways.

Though Moses had walked with God for more than 40 yrs, he prayed to God when he faced a dilemma in a very open way...
Exodus 33:13 (New International Version)
If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you.

When we believe that God lives within us then we can be pretty sure that His Spirit will be there to lead us and guide us and also stop us when we go the wrong way...

A time to just sit...

As God's people we may make so many plans with respect to our service for the Lord. Some may want to do charity work, some may want to show some deeds of kindness and some ministry work. But sometimes the Lord may ask us to simply lay aside all our plans and be quiet. This He may show us either through a personal conviction or a revelation or even through closed doors. Why the Lord is asking us to do so, we may not quiet understand His will. Yet it is allowed for a purpose.

When the Lord went to pray in the garden of Gethsemane, he asked few of His disciples to sit there... We do not understand why He asked them to do so. They did what they were told.

Matthew 26:36 (New International Version)
Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray."

Whatever be the reason if the Lord asks us to sit there, then we better obey it rather than questioning Him. It is better to lay aside our plans and do His will. For our life is to do His will all the time.

God's own ways...

Sometimes we expect God to work according to our approach or way or view. But God has His own ways of working things for us. He has His own ways to reveal, work or implement things in our life. All we need to do is be open to Him so that we do not miss what He is trying to teach or reveal to us. Our own notions may make us miss to see His plans or will for us.

Amos 4:13 (New International Version)
He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals his thoughts to man, he who turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth— the LORD God Almighty is his name.

As the Word of God says, the Lord reveals His thoughts and plans to us in His own way... And we will be able to know them as long as we are ready to remove our (self-built) notions from our minds and allow Him to lead us naturally...

Growth by yielding

Another kind of maturity that has to be there among God's children is accepting the will of God in their lives. Sometimes we don't accept God's will that easily...we fight and try all our efforts to make God comply to our will. Then after realizing that it is not the right thing to have done, do we give up resentfully. But giving up resentfully is not the right attitude either...for we have failed to understand God and trust His love for us.

Only when we learn to yield to God, believing whatever He approves or permits is good for us, will we be able to understand Him and appreciate His will in our lives. For this we need to ask the Lord to make us captive to Him always.

2 Tim 2:26 (NASB)

...having been held captive by him to do his will.

Simple Trust

Simple trust is better than complicated faith. Sometimes we make our faith very complicated by trying to find what we need to do in life. If only we could trust God to lead us in His way, stop us when required, receive that is best and not get which is less than that, life would be far more easier.

It is true that we need to approach every aspect of life prayerfully. But at the same time, we need to trust God's leading and provision rather than confusing too much to find God's will. That is why the Word of God exhorts us,

Ps 37:5,6 (NIV)
5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

When we put simple trust in God, we can be rest assured that we will never miss His will.

Peace in God's will

Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)
(v.6) Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (v.7) And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Anxiety can take away our peace. It can make our thoughts run amuck. Not only anxiety, sometimes added to anxiety, frustration and anger can get mixed up too. But in all these mixed emotions the Word of God exhorts that we bring our emotions, issues or problems to God. The Psalmists in most of the Psalms we find bring their anger, frustration and hopelessness to the Holy God. After confessing how they feel, they put their trust in God's faithfulness believing that He knows the best solution.

As we see in the scripture above, the Lord will guide us through His peace that surpasses all understanding. If we have peace regarding the issue we are praying then it is God's will. If the issue we are presenting to God does not have the element of peace in it, then it is not God's will. So we can be sure what is God's will and also the answer for issues we face. And there will be no room left for anxiety to dwell within.

In line with Him...

When we are keen on doing God's will, the Holy Spirit of God will reveal God's will to us through convictions which is foreign to our thoughts, desires and emotions. These convictions will be so clear beyond doubt that we will know that it is from the Lord and not our own. Sometimes it is may be something that we desire and sometimes not. However the peace of God will accompany the thought process which confirms God's will.

Many a time, if the will of God is something against our thought process, we may try to achieve what we want to, through our efforts. And that is the when we will lose our peace. So it is better that we do God's will so that we may keep our peace and not face the consequences of doing our own will.

Isaiah 26:3 (New King James Version)
You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.

His Will - Really Good...

Surrending fully to the Lord is a problem to many. Because fully surrendering to God is like, there is no wish and will of our own. Many of us while praying to God may tell the Lord, "Thy will be done", though inwardly we may be saying "It better be what I am asking for".

For many years I have lived like this. Even the smallest matter which I ask for, I will say, "Lord thy will be done". But inwardly I will hope for something that I desire to be answered. Because I believed that God would give me something that I may not like.

When I got saved several years back I wanted to serve God in the area of counseling. I assumed that to be God's will and I prayed about it earnestly. Though I had a few oppurtunities to carry out my vision, it didn't turn out to be full time as I desired. I always feared that if I give over to my desire and vision to God, He may ask me to do something else which I may not like. Finally when I realised that I cannot proceed in the area of counseling full time, I surrendered myself to God wholly.

A few years back, the Lord slowly ignited the talent of writing in me which was there right from the time of salvation. The Lord helped me grow in that talent and get shaped. The Lord placed this in my heart as my calling which He confirmed through Jer 1:9. I believe it and love what I do. The Lord did not lead me into something which I didn't like. But He inspired me to do something that I loved to do. Now I can say wholeheartedly that I love more to write than to counsel people.
The will of God is always good, pleasing and perfect (Rom 12:2) if only we could taste and see it...

Romans 12:2 (New International Version)
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Waiting - The Most Difficult Phase

When we are waiting for an answer from the Lord, expecting God to work something for us and show us His will, many a time we get impatient. We may want to try out a few possible options to get a workable solution though deep within the heart we hear a small conviction which says 'Wait'.

Waiting is one of the most difficult phase in a Christian's life. It is the phase where God makes us wait purposefully so that our faith may be strengthened and we grow in obedience. And it is vital to help us grow in grace.

At times we may even think that God has forgotten to guide us or answer our prayers and we may just go our way to work things for us. But all that we would find is more frustrations and resentments. Frustrations and resentments can make us move away from God. But the happy news is that God has not forgotten us or our concerns. He will surely lead us and work things in His way. All that we need to do is to is ask His forgiveness, submit to Him and expect Him to work out His will for us. And our good Shepherd will not fail us...

Psalm 139:9,10 (NIV)

9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea

10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

When confused with God's will

Sometimes finding God's will is the most difficult thing. Preachers and writers give us guidelines saying that the most common way to find God's will is through the Word of God, the peace that fills our hearts and minds and through circumstances or the happenings. Yet at times in certain aspects of life finding God's will may be complicated especially when we are unable to find a clear picture either from the Word or peace.

Sometimes we may become obsessed or become indifferent to God's will. Both the attitudes are not right as they are two different extremes. But the right way is the spirit of humble submissiveness which is ready to accept whatever be the will of God irrespective of our likes or dislikes knowing that the will of God is good and perfect (Rom 12:2).

In circumstances when the will of God is unclear, the only option is to leave the matter with God instead of prevailing hard to find God's will. As long as we want to be in the centre of God's will we really need not be worked up to find His will. All that we need to understand is that God knows what we feel and think and He is equally concerned with our concerns. He is working on our concerns and will surely let us know what to do and will not keep us in dark. Amen.

Philippians 3:15b (New International Version)

And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.