Hebrews 11:32-40 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
Although most of us would love to have the heroic trust of the men and women mentioned in Hebrews 11, few of us are willing to go through the process which God uses to develop this kind of dynamic faith. We love reading about the great victories and accomplishments of those who trusted the Lord, but we cringe at the descriptions in verses 36 - 38. None of us want to go through such horrific situations, but adversity is God's way of purifying our faith.
Picture the Lord as a master sculptor standing before a block of marble - that slab is you! Picturing the hidden work of art within the rock, He lovingly and carefully chips away at everything that does not fit the masterpiece He's creating.
CHARACTER - One of the first areas the Lord deals with is our character. His goal is to shape us into the image of His Son, and there are some traits and attitudes that must be chipped away in order for Him to accomplish the task. His chisel lays bare roots of sin and selfishness.
IDOLATRY - When anything or anyone becomes more important to us than the Lord, we have an idol in our lives. To protect us, God sometimes uses adversity to strip away everything we have relied upon so that we'll cling only to Him.
The chisel hurts - it sometimes feels as if God is taking away everything we hold dear. Unless we understand His goal and believe He's working for our good, we'll think He's cruel. But if we trust Him and yield to His shaping tool of adversity, our faith will be purified and strengthened through affliction.
Be Blessed!
Although most of us would love to have the heroic trust of the men and women mentioned in Hebrews 11, few of us are willing to go through the process which God uses to develop this kind of dynamic faith. We love reading about the great victories and accomplishments of those who trusted the Lord, but we cringe at the descriptions in verses 36 - 38. None of us want to go through such horrific situations, but adversity is God's way of purifying our faith.
Picture the Lord as a master sculptor standing before a block of marble - that slab is you! Picturing the hidden work of art within the rock, He lovingly and carefully chips away at everything that does not fit the masterpiece He's creating.
CHARACTER - One of the first areas the Lord deals with is our character. His goal is to shape us into the image of His Son, and there are some traits and attitudes that must be chipped away in order for Him to accomplish the task. His chisel lays bare roots of sin and selfishness.
IDOLATRY - When anything or anyone becomes more important to us than the Lord, we have an idol in our lives. To protect us, God sometimes uses adversity to strip away everything we have relied upon so that we'll cling only to Him.
The chisel hurts - it sometimes feels as if God is taking away everything we hold dear. Unless we understand His goal and believe He's working for our good, we'll think He's cruel. But if we trust Him and yield to His shaping tool of adversity, our faith will be purified and strengthened through affliction.
Be Blessed!
No comments:
Post a Comment