WHEN TROUBLE WORKS FOR US

Our light affliction . . . is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. --2 Corinthians 4:17


Is there something that seems to be working against you today—time, health, money, opportunity, people? Sometimes it's easy to feel that everything and everyone is against us. We know we're supposed to trust God, but it's hard to understand why He would allow our circumstances to become so difficult and confusing. A friend of mine who has experienced many setbacks offered a fresh look at the role of our difficulties. He emphasized a single word in a familiar passage: "Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (2 Cor. 4:17). "We think our afflictions are working against us," my friend said, "but God says they are working for us. They're producing a glory that will last forever. Compared to our trials, the glory is always greater. That's why we don't lose heart." From God's perspective, our deepest disappointments and sorrows are "but for a moment." It's difficult for us to accept this while we are in the midst of our trials, but we can trust the word of our kind and loving Father. It's amazing to know that God can take the things that seem to be against us and cause them to work for us. By faith, we can embrace His perspective today. God can weave the thorns of life into a crown of glory.


READ: 2 Corinthians 4:7-18

RUNNING THE RACE

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us (Hebrews 12:1).

Should you ever have the opportunity of visiting ancient Corinth, there is an out-of-the way, seldom-seen-by-tourists place that makes what Paul wrote to the Corinthians more meaningful. Remember Paul's comments that those who run in a race should run in such a way as to gain the prize? If your guide really knows his geography, he will take you to the place near the Corinthian canal where the Isthmian games were held every two years.

Paul was a master at bringing home spiritual truths in such a way that his readers could readily identify with them. The Isthmian games were a forerunner of the modern Olympics, and Greeks loved their athletes, who were venerated as basketball and soccer stars are today.

"Everyone who competes in the games," wrote Paul, "goes into strict training" (1 Corinthians 9:25). It's still true. The old adage, "no pain, no gain," speaks in subdued tones of the discipline, the long hours of training, the hardships day after day so that you are ready when the day comes to compete.

Using the same analogy, the writer of Hebrews said, "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us" (Hebrews 12:1, KJV).

Athletes still use some of the basic training techniques that the Greeks used. To strengthen their muscles they would often carry heavy weights, or strap them on their legs, but when the day of the race came, they took off everything that was non-essential.

Both Paul and the writer of Hebrews liken your walk to the Lord with the race run by the athlete. It has a starting point that is at your conversion, and it has a terminus --- when you meet the Lord. In this contest, the writer says you are to rid yourself of two things --- the weights that slow you down, and the sins which (like a heavy garment) keep you from achieving.

If every word is significant, then there is a reason why two words --- weights and sins --- are used, and understanding the difference provides insights for us today. The first word, 'ogkos', in Greek means a weight, a burden, or an impediment --- actually, anything that really keeps you from walking with the Lord, something that in and of itself is not wrong. But it becomes wrong in relationship to keeping you from doing the will of God.

The second word, ‘harmatia’, means just what it suggests --- sin. It meant "missing the mark," "falling short of a goal or target." It was the same word that Jesus used when Luke recorded His comments on prayer as Jesus said we should pray, "Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sin against us. And lead us not into temptation."

The writer says, "Get rid of what keeps you from being at your best including what you clearly know is wrong ---sin!"

And how do we do that? First, you make the decision that anything which keeps you from giving of your best to serve the Master has to go. Jesus said that you can't serve two masters, which is what you are trying to do. It doesn't work! You never succeed with a schizophrenic approach to Christianity. If Jesus Christ is the one He claimed to be, and if you really chose to serve Him because of what you believed Him to be, then serve Him with all your heart.

Second, confess and forsake what the Bible calls sin. God's promise is still in effect as He said, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

Then, when we start building our strength through daily contemplation on the word of God, and walk as children of light. Our daily walk is be part of the race set before us. If we continue to strengthen our consciousness of the Word and walk the Christian walk, daily as we run the race we can be sure that the prize of the high calling can be achieved.

Staying focused, renewing your determination, and hanging in there day after day is what it takes to win. It's true when you are running a race and when you are living the Christian life.

The athlete who triumphed in a Greek athletic contest was given a crown of garland leaves that quickly wilted and died, but when you succeed in your Christian life, your crown is eternal life which knows no end.

Resource reading: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27.

SOWING SEEDS IN LIFE

Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. [Galatians 6:7]

I read a fable about a man who was browsing in a store when he made the shocking discovery that God was behind a sales counter. So the man walked over and asked, "What are You selling?" God replied, "What does your heart desire?" The man said, "I want happiness, peace of mind, and freedom from fear . . . for me and the whole world." God smiled and said, "I don't sell fruit here. Only seeds."

In Galatians 6, Paul stressed the importance of sowing seeds of God-honoring behavior, for "whatever a man sows, that he will also reap" (v.7). We can't expect to experience the fruit of God's blessings if we don't recognize the importance of doing our part.

It helps to follow the example of others who have sown good seed. Author Samuel Shoemaker said that a good example can either inspire us or cause us to say, "Oh yes, he (or she) is like that. He is not troubled by temper or nerves or impatience or worry as I am; he is just a happier temperament." Shoemaker continued, "It may not occur to us that perhaps he had to fight for his serenity, and that we might win if we would do the same."

Are you weary of the way you are? Ask God for His help and begin sowing seeds of new actions and responses today. In due season the Spirit will give the increase.

We're always sowing seeds in life by everything we do and say, so let's make sure the fruit we reap comes from the good we do each day. The seeds we sow today determine the kind of fruit we'll reap tomorrow.

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IT'S A RACE ONLY YOU CAN RUN

No Olympic medalist will ever tell you the prize came easily. Successful athletes spend years of extensive training, preparing for the day they will match themselves against other competitors to see who is the fastest, strongest, steadiest. To the athlete, the prize is well worth the many hours spent in training. It’s true. Good things seldom come without cost.

This truth applies in the spiritual world as well. When you read about the great spiritual heroes in the Bible, or when you admire the strong faith of your parish priest or church pastor, don’t assume that the same walk with God is not available to you also. You have just as much opportunity to walk closely and powerfully with God as they have. The question is this: Are you willing to pay the same price they went through in order to be filled with God’s powerful presence? Spiritual exercise doesn’t come without exercise. You cannot be spiritually lazy and vibrant at the same time. It’s not possible to neglect reading your Bible and ignore the place of prayer and still become a strong Christian. There is a price to pay for an intimate walk with God. The apostle Paul says if we are willing to do whatever is necessary in order to run the race of the Christian life well, the prize will be more than worth our effort.
Don’t you know that in a race all the runners run but only one wins the prize? You must run in such a way that you may win the prize. Everyone who competes in an athletic contest goes into strict training. They do it to win a crown that is temporal, but we do it to win a crown will last forever. So when you run, run with that clear goal in mind. (1 Corinthians 9:24-26)

Athletes are willing to push themselves harder and longer and farther than anyone else. They strive to bring their bodies and minds completely under control so that they excel and receive a prize. Others go home to relax, but athletes continue to train. While most people protect themselves from any form of discomfort, athletes push themselves to the limits of their endurance. While some remain satisfied with mediocre performance, athletes pay any price for excellence. The Apostle Paul said that despite their most valiant efforts, the athletes’ successes and prizes are eventually forgotten. Even the greatest athletic achievements have not affected eternity.

If an athlete can be motivated to make incredible sacrifices for a perishable reward, how much more ought Christians to strive for an imperishable one? How much motivation do you need to realize that what you are striving for is eternal life? If an athlete will labor day after day in order to receive praise and glory from others, how much harder will you work to hear the word “well done” from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself? Are you striving to bring your body into subjection for the glory of God? Are you training your mind to think the thoughts of God rather than thoughts of the world? Are you disciplining your life in prayer? When others are sleeping, are you interceding? Have you studied God’s word so diligently that you are prepared to find answers to the challenges you face? Have you equipped yourself in evangelism so that you are ready to share your faith? Have you prepared yourself as a Christian in order to qualify for the everlasting crown that awaits you? How much motivation do you need to run the God has set for you in this life?

At the end of the race, can you also say, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." (2 Timothy 4:7)

There is much satisfaction in finishing something you have begun! The success of a race is determined not only by how well you begin but also by how well you end. Many athletes can begin a race impressively, but if they stumble or are injured or lack the stamina to finish, their good start is useless. Apostle Paul rejoiced that he had not only begun the race but he had also finished it. His prize was a robust faith in God and a life filled with God’s powerful presence.

The Christian life is not easy. Some mistakenly assume that once they become children of God, their struggles are over. Many Christians begin their walk with Christ enthusiastically, but as the pressures mount, they lose heart and abandon their pilgrimage. They quit the race, and fall into the sidelines. Many would even say the moment they find the obstacles too hard to supass that "this is probably not God's will for me".

The Apostle Paul described His Christian life as "a battle". There were times when he struggled, and only through perseverance could he continue. It may surprise us to know that the great apostle had to struggle at times to be faithful to God. Apostle Paul faced persecution, misunderstanding, betrayal, and even death threats. His Christian life was anything but easy, yet he persevered. He knew what it takes, and he kept his sight on Jesus.

"Therefore since we also are surrounded with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily besets us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, LOOKING TO JESUS the Author and Finisher of our faith..." Hebrews 12:1-2

Your faith in God is not proven by beginning the race but by enduring to the finish. Publicly announcing your commitment to Christ in your church does not compare with a lifetime of devotion to His cause. Use the Apostle Paul as your model. Live your life in such a way that you can one day conclude, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith!”

Run the race that is set before you. No one can run it for you. It's a race only you can run. It's a race you must finish.

When you run, there's only one thing you have to keep in mind: Focus on Jesus.

Godspeed!

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