The degenerative & painful pathway to wrinkledom (#3)
Lesson 3: It is refining, so be thankful
Warning! The refiner’s fire hurts, but we can be thankful that the burn marks have a purpose.
Afflicted saint, to Christ draw near,
Your Saviour’s gracious promise hear;
His faithful Word you can believe:
That as your days your strength shall be.(v1 by John Fawcett - 1782)
Being thankful is not something that comes naturally to most; I’m an expert at grumpiness and a natural and very skilled catastrophiser! So being thankful is a discipline, but one that is worth cultivating for the dark stuff that awaits. So…
Be thankful for refining, however painful - When you go through pain and suffering, however unjust and unfair that may feel, God promises in his providence to work in and through that, for our good.
“‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.’”
‘The good’ might not be the balm you want when suffering, but it is what we all need, that is to become more like Jesus, or 'conformed to the image of his Son' (Romans 8:29). It is the sanctifying work that God relentlessly pursues in the life of his children, mainly through the work of his Word and Spirit as we battle through life, but as sovereign creator our Heavenly Father can employ all means to achieve his loving aims for each of us.
A few years back I had a bit of skin cancer removed from my chest under a local anaesthetic. Watching the surgeon slice deep into my skin and remove the cancer was a treat, he was so skillful; but no one wants to be sliced open, because knives are scary and wounds take time to heal. God sometimes wields his scalpel in the most unexpected and brutal ways, but his precision is perfect and his purpose is divine - so be thankful when you get cut and burnt. Our Father’s refining hand may allow long seasons of pain but in that, there is purpose, for which we can be thankful.
Unbelievably in time, you may look back to the pain you have endured and oddly want more; not the pain itself in a masochistic way, but the sanctifying hand of God is a blessing so amid your pain there comes a point where the joy of being transformed more into the likeness of Jesus, is more attractive than a pain-free existence and a life of ease. Likewise, training hard for a marathon might involve some tough anaerobic sessions, where you push yourself to your max. The pain is horrible as you fall to the floor struggling to breathe, resisting the urge to vomit at the end of a brutal hill session; but when you are in the final stages of a marathon and everyone around you is spent and you just keep going, then you realise the pain was worth it.
Being refined to become more like Christ, is never pain-free, that is the pathway of God’s family. It is a battle to honour Christ and become more like Christ, hence why Paul uses the language ‘put to death’ (Colossians 3:4) and ‘put on the full armour’ (Ephesians 6:11). You may not suffer with MS, or cancer; but every morning we each battle with the snooze button, we likely battle every time we pick up an electronic device for varying reasons. Refinement comes through pain and sacrifice; like carving out time in your day to hear God speak through his Word and to come to our Heavenly Father in humble, joyful, and dependent prayer. Or through deliberately devoting time to talk to friends about your struggles and sins, however embarrassing (they have probably done worse). Expect it to be hard and painful, but be thankful to God for the results are awesomely beautiful and worth more than gold. John Newton articulates this refining pathway in seven angsty verses of his hymn ‘I asked the Lord’...
I asked the Lord that I might grow
In faith and love and ev’ry grace,
Might more of His salvation know,
And seek more earnestly His face.
‘Twas He who taught me thus to pray,
And He, I trust, has answered prayer,
But it has been in such a way
As almost drove me to despair.v1 &2 of 'I asked the Lord' by John Newton
Right now the pain and suffering you face might feel unbearable. You may wonder how you can get through the day. You might feel that God has completely abandoned you. I don’t remember a day when I haven’t woken up in the morning without sighing deeply and feeling an overwhelming sense of dread. Every morning I can’t imagine how I’m going to get through the AM hours, never mind the fearful PM hours! So most mornings begin with some form of, what I like to call ‘prayers of desperation’. I’m not sure Old Testament scholars have adopted this title for Psalter genres yet, but my prayers usually begin like Psalm 13.
“How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?”
The context may be different, but David feels alone, surrounded, overwhelmed and sorrowful. It feels like God has abandoned him. When you are going through tough stuff, God’s Word shows us how to cry out to God like David - ‘How long?’ Despite the hopeless tone of his question, note that David still calls God his covenant “LORD” (Yahweh). David’s earthly circumstances feel and look awful, but he still rests in the covenant faithfulness and kindness of God. So…be thankful that God is our LORD and that is enough. Answers to the questions of our hearts and the questions in vv1&2 may not come today, or tomorrow, or this year….but like David, keep speaking to and trusting in, God as our covenant-keeping LORD.
“Look on me and answer, LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.”
Having pleaded for the ‘light’ [of life] (see v3-4 above). David finally rests in the best place. I just bought a new duvet cover with a thread count that I became inordinately excited about. Getting that duvet cover, sheet pillowcases on, I jumped into a squishy, silky haven of joy - what a beautiful place to rest! Look where David goes; it’s infinitely better…
“But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing the LORD’s praise,
for he has been good to me.”
David begins the psalm with resentment and questioning, finishing the Psalm; trusting, rejoicing, and singing. Like David…
Be thankful for God’s saving love
NOTE the refining movement. He begins speaking honestly to God - “how long”. He pleads for relief, whether his circumstances have changed or not (vv3-4), He then decides to trust, rejoice and sing. Why? “For he [his covenant LORD] has been good to me”.
The trajectory of the Psalm urges us not to wallow in the “How longs” and if we do we probably need a friend to give us a kick up the backside to get us to v5, why? Because there is never a moment when we can’t trust, rejoice and sing. The LORD has been good to me, and will always be good, and work his good in me for his glory and good purposes.
You may suffer like Job the innocent sufferer, or because of God’s fatherly discipline (Hebrews 10) in your life, or just because we live in a broken, groaning world. But whatever the reason for your suffering and whatever suffering comes your way, be thankful.
God is there, he is working his purpose. Cry out to him “How long?” Then…
Trust in his steadfast love (Ps13:5a)
Rejoice in the deliverance/salvation God has bought for you (Ps13:5b)
Sing in praise to our worthy LORD (Ps13:6a)…why?
“For he has been good to me” (Ps13:6b).
