by Chad Lewis on May 1, 2008
I’ve been thinking about God’s gifts this morning. The gifts of difficult relationships, hard working environments, disobedient children – all of these and many, many more are gifts even though they don’t seem to be in the moment. God uses all of these “gifts” to make us more like Jesus. They are all part of our sanctification.
As you approach these “gifts” throughout each day of life, the choice exists for us to react in our own strength and understanding or turn our eyes to the Father and seek to use each of these situations as redemptive possibilities.
With difficult relationships, we have the opportunity to move towards people with the love and forgiveness that Christ has shown us. He is always moving toward us – especially when we are unlovable. With hard work environments, we have the opportunity to realize how needy we truly are and this can drive us to God to ask for help moment by moment to love others, react with kindness and actually live in the strength that God provides. And with our children, we have the opportunity to not merely correct behavior, we can explore their hearts and see each opportunity as a chance to share grace, love and discipline. It even gives us the opportunity to ask for their forgiveness when we act sinfully towards them.
Is any of this easy? Nope. It isn’t supposed to be. The fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5 is not named by mistake. It isn’t the fruit of my good efforts or the fruit of trying harder. It is the fruit of the Spirit because it is the fruit that only God can truly give.
Rich Mullins wrote, “The long and short of all of it is that if I believe that God is good, then I need to accept whatever happens in my life as being a gift, and allow Him to take some of the things that hurt, allow Him to take some of the things that sting, some of the things that I think are going to kill me – allow Him to take those things and make of me the person He wants me to be. It may not be the person I want to be, but it’ll be the person He would want me to be.”
Let’s remember that God is at work today and seek to be thankful for these “gifts” that God gives.
by Chad Lewis on February 11, 2006
Two years ago I wrote “Suffering Song.” It simply chronicles my journey through the fire. The lyrics are posted below:
I begged for You to take me out of this fire
But You heated the furnace seven times more
The flames leapt and quenched all of my heart’s desire
Oh how I felt alone, I felt unknown
You gave me this cup of suffering
But I let it sit on, on this cold hard floor
If I were to take it up and drink it complete
I could not stand anymore, I could not stand anymore
When I prayed for life, You took mine away
My dreams shattered and like cold ashes blew in the wind
I prayed to comfort Your people so you planted this pain
The wound is deep in me, I didn’t want them to see
This wound is deep in me, but it’s what You want them to see
Because in the fiery furnace, You held my hand
And this cup of grief, You helped me drink it to the dregs
And this thorn in my soul is Your story to be told
Your grace is sufficient for any need,
Yes Your grace is sufficient for the greatest need
So rebuke our prayers for comfort Lord
For we should ask for so much more
To be broken and used up for this lost, dark world
Change our heart’s Lord, rob us of selfishness Lord
And if this cup you ask us to drink
Is filled to the brim with suffering
let it be, let it be for Your glory
As I type this morning, I remember recently wrestling with the line, “rebuke our prayers for comfort” because it seems vague enough to cause some misunderstanding. My intention in writing this line was not to say that asking God to comfort our troubled souls was wrong, but rather that we should be rebuked as we pray for earthly comforts.
The most loving thing God can do for His children is to often bless them with the gift of suffering. The question could be posed, “What is the greatest gift God could give us?” The answer – Himself. Another question: “What is the one thing we need on this earth more than anything else?” The answer – God, Himself.
If these are our answers, we must be willing to accept that God is so gracious, He will do what it takes for us to seek Him. If our lives were filled with earthly comforts, we would never (in and of ourselves) cry out and seek after Him.
The greatest gifts of my life have often been the trials of sadness and despondancy. It is during these times where I have wept before the Lord and sought to grab hold of His garment. It is during these times that I had nothing else and found that God was closer than I imagined. It is during these times that my Abba’s hand has restored my soul and given me courage to walk on. It is from this storehouse of sufferings that God allows me to connect to the troubled and weary soul.
So when you are walking through the furnace, remember that this may be the very gift of love that you are longing for. We do not have to love the suffering – it would not be natural to do so. However, we can rejoice in the affects of the suffering for it can drive us to our knees. In this place, we will be driven into a more loving and intimate walk with our Savior and Lord.
So whether you are walking through the loneliness of singleness, the black cloud of depression, the uncertainty of the future, or even through the valley of the shadow of death, fear not, for He is with you and He is working. Take time to meditate on the truths of Romans 8 and remember how much our Abba cares.
(to listen to “Suffering Song” you can go to www.chadlewis.net and click on listen)
