Don't Miss the Gift

Sometimes it really does take a Goliath to bring out the David in us.  Perhaps the thing we have had to walk through that we were sure would destroy us (grief, loss, heartbreak, betrayal, illness, abandonment, divorce, financial ruin) is the very thing that will make us.

I used to think one could be victorious without actually having to go through a thing. But then what would be the point? The commanding officer does not win the battle from the front porch, if so, the victory would not be his. To overcome is to know the taste, smell and feel of the deepest darkest pit and yet not carry the stench of smoke. The blood, sweat and tears are what makes it real and forever changes our very core. This is His glory.

A friend said recently that she knows she has grown to a measure over the years, but some things in her that still remain, major heart issues, attitudes, even strongholds she cannot seem to shake loose of.  She has not understood why these things have not changed. I told her that some things we ourselves cannot change. Only God Himself can do that work, and it is usually through the really tough stuff of life.

Joseph was not promoted to the palace until fully embracing the pit.  Goliath was not David’s first rodeo. His divine appointment win at the forefront of the Philistine confrontation happened only because he had spent considerable time on the backside of the desert, where he was made.

Everything we go through is measured, because God looks at the heart. David said Thy Word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against Thee. Psalm 119:11 What is that really saying? His Word, His ways, His truth, His character, His life is so ingrained in our heart that it causes us to respond to the issues of life through that lens. But it does not happen naturally. Psalm 119: 67 Before I was afflicted, I went astray but now I keep your Word. Psalm 119: 71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted That I may learn Your statutes.

Affliction, correction, suffering and brokenness is not a popular topic, and little talked about, but a principal woven throughout scripture. We know we are His by His discipline, His dealing, Prov 3:11. He tells us to fall on the Rock or the Rock will fall on us Matt 21: 44 (meaning by stumbling onto the rock of truth we shall be broken, but those it falls onto will be scattered to dust). We are to lose our life to gain His, Matt 10:39. Sanctification is the process of crucifixion of our flesh or removal of self. You get the point. These things produce God intended outcomes, IF we allow.

Issues such as pride, arrogance, anger, fear, control, holding grudges, hurt and offense are but a few of the big ones that take the Master to make right. Sometimes we do not even know it is there in us. We can become embittered over issues of hurt and offense or we can allow the Lord to deal with us. As we wrestle it out and overcome, the very thing that tried to hold us captive can be the thing used for His purposes.

Long before offense was a major topic in our culture, before it was a thing, I would often say we have multiple opportunities daily to be offended, it is a choice. Harboring offense actually only harms us. It eats at us and robs us of peace and joy. Often the offender does not even realize that we feel like we have been punched in the gut so to speak. We are not getting back at them by hanging on to offense, it is actually self-destructive. On the other hand, true love is so innocent it does not even know when it is offended, is not provoked, and thinks no evil 1 Cor 13.

From the greatest life changing issue or loss, to the least, God wants to do such a deep thing in us that it literally changes who we are. Whatever hard thing is pressing you right now, allow His good work to remove areas that don’t need to remain. This work IS in fact… a gift. Don’t miss it.