Last Saturday my boss told me to take Monday and Tuesday off since we’d had overtime the previous week in Berlin. Though the mental to-do list was screaming out to me, my body which was starting to fight something, thanked him. It was timely as so many matters of prayer were surfacing all at once; and the cold, rainy weather was not beckoning me to get out in the least. Okay, I could give two days, and so I did.
But then it so happened that the Lord was asking/granting me more time as all 5 of my meetings from Wednesday to Friday were canceled, all for different reasons; and a lot of the remaining week’s workload depended on them. Mensch! (Aw, man!) It could be nice if it hadn’t called for mostly cold rain every day and if I’d had more to do; but sometimes it takes these types of situations to get us in a place where we have to deal. Deal with the inner issues that we’re tempted to ignore and are otherwise too busy to really examine and bring to the Lord. The things that if left unaddressed burden us and hinder us and get in the way of our relationship both with God and with others. The things that I would've gladly escaped through work or busy-ness, but wasn't afforded that option this time!
The Message version of the book of James tells us to "[consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way." (ch. 1, vs 2-4) That’s been this week for me.
Now that I’m (trusting I'm) on the other side of it, I truly am thankful that the Lord loves us enough to let us get uncomfortable or even miserable if that’s what it takes to bring Him those places that need changing, but are unchangeable without His help.
I’m also thankful that He’s a God who trains us so that we grow and get strong and are able to face the challenges that are ahead. What a good Father we have who sticks with us in our times of need and helps us in every situation.
Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life. ~ James 1:12 (Message)
