The Joy of Tribulation

Hello friends! I have had a very interesting time the last several weeks, and I wanted to share a little bit of the process, which the Lord has so graciously invited me to be apart of.

Some of you may or may not know, but about 3 weeks ago, I relapsed, meaning I had an adrenal/Addisonian crisis, which has sent my body spiraling downward into a hole. It's been a roller coaster of crisis intervention, medicine, narcotics for pain, etc., but the Lord sustained me and kept me from having to go back into the hospital! As of this week, I think I'm having a little bit of a turn around, but it's a slow arduous process.

At any rate, what the enemy would have meant for harm, the LORD has been turning around for good! I have been AMAZED at the Lord's sweet tenderness in these low places of suffering and tribulation! And this is the insight that I want to share with you, because what the Lord does for one of His afflicted ones, He does for ALL of us!

Many of us know this familiar passage:

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." (Jms. 1:2-4)

Now, the initial interpretation of this passage is exactly what it's talking about -we can consider it pure joy when we face hardships because the Lord is fashioning His character in us, He is completing His work in us, and He is preparing and equipping us for the calls that He has placed on our lives, so that we will be "full and complete, lacking nothing." Lacking nothing! Think about that! No lack, no need, no desire unfulfilled. In essence, the tribulation will expedite the process of you coming to a place of COMPLETE and TOTAL fulfillment in Christ, in your heart, and in your life! What an INCREDIBLE promise.

But there's another joy, which is not specifically stated in this passage that I believe anyone, who has ever faced the deepest valleys and sought the face of God in them, has come to understand, experience, and appreciate...it is the joy of God's Presence in the suffering! To me, this is really what James was talking about! We can count it all joy when we face trials of all kinds, not only because of the character that He is fashioning in us, but more so because of the joy it is to be with Him in His presence in the process! He is near the broken-hearted, and the afflicted He does not despise, but listens and answers their cries! (ref. Ps. 51:17; Ps. 22:24)! For where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty, there is life, there is love, joy, peace, and all His other fruits as described in Galatians 5.

It is not that we have to go through hard times to appreciate His presence; in fact, He makes Himself available to us at all times, giving us complete access to His throne because of Christ (ref. Heb. 4:16). However, there is something extra special, an extra tenderness and kindness that manifests from Him for those, who are suffering...an intimate embrace awaits the broken hearted, the wounded and the afflicted, the weary and distressed. He is our Healer, our Keeper, our Comforter, but you cannot receive comfort if there is nothing to be comforted, cannot be "kept" if there is nothing to keep, and there is no need for healing if there is nothing to heal.

Oh for the joy of being with Him in the process of the pain! Like a mother, who holds, rocks, and soothes her child, who scraped his knee; like a mother hen, who gathers her chicks beneath her feathers, this place of vulnerability and strength under God's wings and in His arms is such a precious gift for us to cherish. My prayer is that you can find this same place with Him during the worst of times, because it is in these darkest and coldest of moments that the light of the Morning Star shines all the more brightly, and His warmth invades and surrounds your heart more prominently.

To Him be the glory and honor and power forever!