So now that we understand why we are sinned against (the Fall), that we contribute some of our own sin to the sins that others commit against us, and we acknowledge that God is behind all of this drama, what should our reaction be? This is the focus of Paul David Tripp's devotional in A Shelter in the Time of Storm: Meditations on God and Trouble. Here is the first two (of four) recommended responses:1. "Run to the temple. Run to your Lord, not away from him. Instead of meditating on all the nasty things that you have endured at the hands of the person who hurt you, give yourself to examining, meditating, and recounting the beauty of your Lord. Let your mind consider his love, mercy, grace, patience, faithfulness, gentleness, wisdom, power, forgiveness, and kindness. Require yourself to consider that this moment may not be a contradiction of his character qualities, but rather a demonstration of them."
This really is a great insight. After being slighted or insulted, isn't our usual response to run to someone else and tell our story of being sinned against? How much more profitable to run to God and and His Word, see who He is, and then attempt to resolve our difficulty in a similar way - with mercy, grace, patience, etc.
2. "Remember your place. Your life no longer belongs to you. Your story is no longer just your story. You have been welcomed to the kingdom of another, and your life is part of the plan and purposes of that kingdom. Don't allow yourself to begin to think that you are in the center of your universe. Remember, you have been chosen to live for the glory of another, and when you do, you will reach levels of personal contentment and joy that aren't possible any other way."
I don't know about the rest of you, but I sure am attracted to the promise of "... personal contentment and joy." Perhaps if we focus more on God and His purposes in our trials, we will be blessed as fretful and angry thoughts flee from us and are replaced with the good gift of a calm and gentle spirit. Sounds like a worthy goal!
"Require yourself to consider that this moment may not be a contradiction of his character qualities, but rather a demonstration of them."
ReplyDeleteNow there's a way of thinking that I never thought of! Often when I am in the midst of injustice by someone close to me, I envision an anvil, a sword, a mallet & the hand driving the mallet. The anvil is my life, I am the sword (in need of sharpening), the mallet is my mistreatment, and the hand driving the mallet is God's. We are being forged with each difficult circumstance how we react is our choice, we can yeild to the One who wants us sharpened and ready for battle or we can let our pride keep us dwelling in the injustice that is being done to us. Candy, I have to tell you, I had to go back and look for the quotation marks to see where Jerry Bridges ended and you began! Thanks for these 4 days of insight, God's timing is perfect as this is where I am struggling right now in my life. Great work!! DS