When things are comfortable, safe and manageable, I feel confidently secure. When circumstances are well-oiled and unobstructed, I easily sense momentum, empowerment and certainty. During times of human approval, when there are a dozen or more people who have my back, when my detractors are muted by the shouts of my supporters, I walk a little more deliberately and swiftly toward the goal. You may be like me in this way: when nothing is between me and my destination, I feel very good about arriving with a little swag.
I haven’t had a season like that in many years.
This is not to say that I do not live with certainty, confidence and determination. I actually do. Having said that, I believe it is important to say that God has seen fit to ensure that my sense of hope is not rooted in the shallow soil of favorable circumstanes. Many years ago, when I was beginning in vocational Kingdom ministry, everything I touched turned into 24-karat gold. Looking back, it really was easy, and I am grateful that my Father entrusted to me an early season of unbroken encouragement. That season lasted for over four years. Slowly, trickles of trouble started coming my way, and my misplaced confidence was kicked to the curb by the humbling boot of my gracious God. Constant cheers began to be mingled with jarring jeers. Compliments on a job well done morphed over into criticisms from those who wished me to do God’s will their way. Layers of impossible circumstances made my once solid footing to feel like quicksand beneath me. Friends became fewer, or at least it felt that way. Foes came out of the shadows, or at least it felt that way. Whereas it seemed like God had been allowing me to travel with Him in the midst of an enthusiastic crowd, during that season of change, things became very lonely for me, and I learned what it meant to experience the underbelly of leadership. God was intentionally removing my presumption of comfort, and He began entrusting to me the unavoidable paradigm of leadership, namely, that God must get the leader alone in order to make that leader suitable to be followed to the high ground of His plan. The Apostle Paul said it this way:
“I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” – Acts 20:24
The details of how this played out in my own life would likely bore you. However, let me strongly suggest that this same process will likely appear in your life too. If you are gifted, capable, successful and accustomed to winning…God will deepen you by ordaining a season in your life wherein nothing will come easily. You will be humbled. You will lose a handful of contests. Some who once cheered you on will second-guess you, and they may distance themselves from you – but not before dropping a steamy pile of discouragement at your feet as they move in the opposite direction from you. The resources that you once presumed to be permanent may dry up. Your influence might atrophy. Phone calls and emails which once valued your input may stop arriving in your voicemail and inbox. In essence, Father may intentionally remove any unworthy crutch upon which you have unknowingly leaned upon. This is not cruelty from Him. This is actually His determined devotion to you. He does not want your finish line to find you without your confidence that His presence and His proactive grace were all that you truly needed. Troubles trickle so that grace may gush.
The Christian who continually plays it safe is a living contradiction. It is not faith that we are living in if life has to remain untested, unobstructed or unchallenged. Comfort zones are presumed by most but promised to none. I can look back and recognize seasons that I thought I was living in victorious faith when, in reality, I was merely walking in temporary ease. It is only through the smoke of the battlefield that we are truly able to discern the presence of God. When shadows and fog move into our lives, when those things which were once clear are now fuzzy, when the sounds of approval are drowned out by the cacophony of confusing white-noise…these are the places and moments when we become determined to hear the voice of the Father. These are the seasons when we meet God. This is where we grow in our love and gratitude toward a good, good Father.
If you are living out this season today, you are actually in a much better place than you were in when things were easy. I promise that you are not there alone. He has not forgotten you there. He is actually drawing near to you in ways that you never even desired when things were more favorable.
Sit still. Cry out. Wait long. Hope high.
You will not regret it.
There a two aspects I would like to share, remembering in both we remain constantly in the palm of His hand and under His watchful eye.
First, as a farmer/gardener when planting a garden whether seeds or plants, there is a time for the plants to grow small little hair like roots called feeder roots, they usually grow fairly fast with out much problem, the feeder roots sustain the plant while it is preparing to grow it’s “tap” roots to sustain the plant during those times when there is drought, wind, and even excessive rains. The tap root stabilizes and sustains the plant. Then there are the “volunteer” plants that come up and try to drain the soil of it’s nutrients. Weeds. Weeds in our lives can be habits, possessions, and/or people. The plant itself will sometimes even grow what is called sucker limbs. These are growths that drain the plant and do not produce well and keep the plant itself from producing a full crop. The weeds and/or suckers can be habits, possessions, and even people; both acquaintances and loved ones. All draining us from being the fruit producing Christian that God has called us to be. God will start “weeding” removing those things we never realized that draining the soil, and pinching the “suckers” off that are draining and distracting us from His purpose. Not to punish the plant, but help it to grow to it’s called potential. We see this happening, some times we look at it and go “Okay I understand why I had to go through that” and other times we cry out “Why oh God, why? This really hurts.” All the time we are still in the palm of His hand.
The second scenario I would like to share; A gentleman was visiting a new friend, the friend happened to be a much older gentleman and was a master craftsman Silversmith. On the day of the visit the older gentleman was smelting some raw silver. As the younger man watched at first it just seemed like the Silversmith was just doing things hap hazard. Then once the heat was applied the Silversmith became much more attentive. The hotter the raw silver got the more molten it became with the Silversmith watching over ever step. Finally all the raw silver was melted and debris started coming to the top. Each time the surface became cluttered with debris, the Silversmith would gently scrape off the debris making sure not to get any of the silver. As the molten silver would roll in the bowl the Silversmith would adjust the heat up or down without ever loosing focus on the now fluid silver. The process seemed to take hours and hours, scraping, adjusting heat, scraping, adjusting heat, stirring the fluid silver, and on and on and on. Several times the younger gentleman would look at the fluid and comment that it looked ready, the old Silversmith came back with the same reply each time. Not yet. Finally the young gentleman was getting a little frustrated and hintrd to it. The old Silversmith just smiled and replied “Almost”. Then the moment came, the old Silversmith declared that the fluid silver was ready to pour into a mold. After all was done the young man had several questions, Everything at first seemed to be hap hazard, then as the heat intensified you became more intent, Then there was all the scraping and scraping. There were several times it just seemed ready long time ago but you kept applying the heat and scraping. I don’t understand. The old Silversmith sat back in his chair and smiled. Then the old Silversmith began to explain, “In the beginning I was choosing which silver ore would blend and give me the desired result. Just like Jesus, he takes us as we are and bring us into the body, then he leads us to a fellowship that can be a support to us and we to the fellowship. As we go deeper into the family, the molten stage, He starts removing the debris in our lives, never injuring us but we feel the heat. This is a long process as all the debris is removed.” The young man then said, I understand that, but why did you keep adjusting the heat? The old Silversmith replied, “Just as Christ cleans our lives and get us get rid of the debris, so I did with the silver. If the heat is not hot enough the silver would not release the debris. So it is with Christ, He knows if He tears the debris from us we will be damaged, rather He wants us to freely release the debris and He will get rid of it.” The young man then asked, but why such a careful watch on the heat? The Silversmith replied, ” If the heat gets to high it will burn the silver, destroying the usefulness of the liquid silver.” The young man came with one final question, But when did you know it was ready? With that the old Silversmith gave a big grin and replied, “All the debris was gone and I could see my image in the reflection of the liquid silver.”
Those “Trickles of Troubles” are the weeding, pruning, smelting in our lives. NEVER for our harm, rather ALWAYS for our good; our good for our selves, our fellowship, and our part in the Body of Christ.
I pray that this will encourage and strengthen when you feel the “heat”. Remember, we are always in the palm of His hand, under His watchful eye.
I listened to your sermon this Sunday morning and you said that there’s nothing in the bible that says that GOD will not put on you no more than you can bear but read 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 13 that says we are not tempted more than we can bear which is in the bible and by tempted means tested. So what does that mean?
The Lord is our Righteousness
ye·hō·vä’ tsid·kā’·nü
He takes our fithy rags and cleans our hearts so we can say with confidence
as Jeremiah 23:6 states THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
I had told a friend of mine who is a Pastor Tuesday that I had lost my shout. I was really feeling the missing of exactly as you spoke it here Brother Jeff. He came back to my home today and, informed me of where my Focus was? As I read your blog it struck home like a bolt of lightning. I had not lost my shout for joy, I lost my FOCUS. Reading this let me know my FOCUS has to remain steady on JESUS and nothing else will matter. Praise GOD for my Saviour.
Thank you. It was very encouraging as I’m walking through a similar season myself right now.
Thanks Jeff, I needed this today.