The townspeople prayed at the beginning of the New Year saying, God, our harvests have been so poor and so scarce, for one
year will you let us plan everything?
There is a legend that originated in a small town in
Germany.For several years the town
experienced poor harvests. The townspeople prayed at the beginning of the New
Year saying, "God, our harvests have been so poor and so scarce, for one
year will you let us plan everything?"
God said, "All right, for one year."
They immediately set their plans for abundance into motion,
and God complied with their every request. Whenever they asked for rain, God
sent rain. Whenever they asked for the sun, God sent the sun. The corn grew
tall as never before, and the wheat had never been thicker.
When the harvest came, the villagers discovered that the
tall corn had no ears, and the thick wheat had no heads of grain.
"God, you have failed us!" they cried out.
"We asked for the Sun, and you sent the sun. We asked for rain, and you
sent rain. But there is no crop."
"You never asked for the harsh north winds,"
answered God. "Without the harsh north winds, there is no pollination, and
with no pollination, there is no crop.”
Why Rejoice in Suffering?
“Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because
we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and
character, hope." (Romans 5:3 & 4 NIV)
To rejoice in suffering is a paradox. But for Christians,
suffering can be the reason for genuine joy because of what it can produce in
us. Trials of life produce spiritual perseverance (i.e. determination and
diligence), a good Christian personality, and reliable hope.
The actual conditions of life, especially for believers amid
a hostile society, are not easy or pleasant, but the knowledge of acceptance
with God, of grace constantly supplied, and of the prospect of future glory
enables believers to revel in the face of suffering.
Believers endure like Christ endured the cross and triumphed
over suffering. The Christian faith consists of glorying and rejoicing while
suffering rather than submitting to it as an inevitable evil.
Sorrowful, Yet Always Rejoicing
“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all
circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1
Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV)
Paul states the paradox of being sorrowful, yet always
rejoicing. The challenge is for this joyful outlook to be constant. From a
human perspective, there may be every reason not to be joyful in many
circumstances, yet in Christ, they are to be more and more joyful.
My Grace is Enough for You
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for
my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more
gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why,
for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in
persecution, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2
Corinthians 12:9 – 10).
There are two tents, contentment and discontentment. Paul
has learned to live in the tent of contentment. The answer to Paul's prayer did
not take the form he had expected. The thorn remained, but so did his
recollection of the divine reply. In the distress inflicted at various times by
his ailment, God promised that Paul would never lack sufficient grace to
overcome it. This grace of Christ was adequate for him precisely because divine
power finds its full scope and strength only in human weakness-- the greater
the Christian's acknowledged weakness, the more evident Christ's enabling strength.
The cross of Christ forms the supreme example of "power-in-weakness".
With this spiritual lesson well learned, Paul indicates he
would prefer to boast about the sorts of things that exposed his weakness
rather than to pray for the removal of the thorn. It was not, however, in the
weaknesses themselves that Paul took delight in but in the opportunity that
such sufferings endured "for Christ's sake" afforded him for Christ's
power to be effective in his life.
We are all going through different problems, difficulties,
and trials of life, but God promises us that his grace is enough to see us
through.
Lessons Learned
I have faced several hard trials in life. During a family
fellowship, one of my brothers commented that the things I went through in life
are the very things that turn a person into an atheist. We see pain and
suffering, poverty and hunger, sickness and death, wars and strife, natural
disasters and calamities, and so many problems and difficulties all around us.
The question that would pop up is, "If there is a God, what is he doing?
If God is love, why does he allow all these terrible things to happen?" The
Bible has the answer. We are sinners living in a fallen world.
Because of the trials, I am more humble and patient than I
was before. I am not merely sympathetic, I am more empathetic now. I have
gained more patience too. To believers trials and suffering in your life may be
blessings in disguise. They will propel you to seek a closer relationship with
God. Contrary to "Your Best Life Now" a book written by Joel Osteen,
our best life is not in of this world. Our best life is yet to come. Our best
life will be in heaven in the glorious presence of God.
