Faith Baptist Church
4258 Botetourt Road
Fincastle, Virginia 24090
(540) 473-2325
Prov.3:5-6
Often times God uses the positive mature believer anonymously, whether it is noted by people or not, it certainly is observed by powers and principalities; those unseen demonic beings; fallen angels headed up by Satan himself. They do, with the permission of God, watch our lives. Job brought glory to God by not turning his back on God in the midst of his undeserved suffering tests as God allowed Satan to observe and even participate in Job’s suffering. Nothing happens in the believer’s life that God is not aware of. We may think God is oblivious to our plight; to our tears, and to our frustrations, but he is not. You and I are indwelled by God the Holy Spirit, and the Son and the Father are also with us always, literally.
Resume:
Nothing can penetrate God’s encapsulated grace pipeline because the righteousness and justice of God protects it. All that flows down it, whether it be great prosperity or great undeserved suffering, is filtered through the justice of God. There is no unfairness in what God allows to come into our lives. If we choose to initiate and practice bad things dishonorable to God then this is God allowing our free will to have its way. God will always be there to restore us when we want restoration; just like the parable of the prodigal son in Lk.15:11-24. Confession as seen in I Jn.1:9 is the answer to deserved suffering.
And then there are times when God allows suffering to come into our lives, suffering that is undeserved. Trust as seen in Prov.3:5-6 is the answer to undeserved suffering.
James.1:17 “Every good; that is, beneficial gift, and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh, a present, active participle in the Greek. The gifts of God keep on coming down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” Here we see the immutability of God; the unchanging God, standing ready to bless the believer at all times. The Lord never welshes on his promises to do what is best for us, even though his timing does try our patience.
One of the things we instinctively do when pleasant circumstances come upon us is devote our attention on the gift, or on that particular blessing rather than the Giver. However, when the perfect gift of undeserved suffering is dropped in our laps, whether it comes by way of the answering machine, or in the e-mail, or the doctor’s office, or to our front door with the news of undeserved suffering, the discomfort will be very unpleasant. The heat of undeserved suffering, which God imputes to refine our understanding and supernatural enlightenment, will become uncomfortable.
In those hours, days or perhaps years of refining work God will show us that He is greater than any of our circumstances. It is only in undeserved suffering that we will listen to some things God has to say and show us. And we need to learn what we need to know to advance in our understanding of God’s love and his plans for our life. Suffering is an effective teacher and suffering etches its mark on our souls. For the positive believer who is under going such suffering, there is a greater anticipation for being with the Lord.
This motivational surge brought upon the positive believer helps motivate the believer to stay focused and encouraged during the marathon of the Christian life. Nothing brings purity to light between the saint and God like suffering.
A greater focus on the eternal weight of glory comes into view, and the things of this earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace as the old refrain from the hymn “Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus” states.
During this period of imputed undeserved suffering the believer is given the opportunity to stay faithful to God, and in return reap what God is sowing in his or her life. We are qualifying to share in heirship of our Lord Jesus Christ, Rom.8:17. To qualify for this unusual blessing which has eternal ramifications, you must be one who is willing to be pulled along by the Spirit of God as per verse 14. You are willing to remain faithful under any set of circumstances even when you do not have the slightest idea as to why this particular situation has come upon you. You are a believer, according to Rom.8:2 who is willing to live free from the domination of the law of the old sin nature as you moment by moment choose to live according to the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. You have the mind set that you are not going to stop growing in the grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. No one or no set of circumstances is going to pull you away from your spiritual social life with God the Father and away from your allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ, no matter how much you hurt.
This discourse finds its end in Paul’s statement in Rom.8:28-29... “In fact we know, [perfect, active, indicative verb], that all things work, actually God works all things out because things don’t work themselves out for the believer apart from God working, a [present active indicative verb], that God keeps on working these things out together for the good, and in context, undeserved suffering for blessing, to them that love, [present active participle]; those that keep on loving God. To them who are the called according to his purpose.” And what is his purpose?
For whom he did foreknow He did also predestinate, decree, that we should be conformed to the image of his Son...”
And why does God keep on working all things together [the context is the mature believer experiencing undeserved suffering]; why does this believer not throw in the towel when he or she feels life has beaten them down? Because they know that it is Jesus Christ who must have the preeminence in their lives. He is the first born, the preeminent one, among many, but not all brethren. For some believers, unfortunately, Jesus Christ is not first in their lives. It’s their family, their jobs, their retirement, their entertainment and so on. It can even be the activity they substitute for their spiritual life in Christ.
Jesus Christ position in the believer’s life is eternally fixed, but Jesus Christ prominence in the daily life of the believer relies on your willingness to let him lead you. Part of the conforming work which God produces in the maturing believer’s life, as he molds us into the image of Christ, is performed through our category of imputed blessings which come by way of undeserved suffering for blessing.
This process weans the believer from his attachment to this temporal world and ushers him or her into a consciousness wherein the Spirit of God draws you ever upward. You face life with courage you would not have otherwise and your testimony for the Lord is unashamed.