“Put for the gospel…”
Paul’s words for life.
Words I shared in last week’s post.
However, I simply can’t move past that word:
PUT
In my quest for settling a solid theology for suffering, I’m leaning into some of the most comforting thoughts!
1) The Lord makes use of all our heartaches and hardships, persecution and problems, trials and tribulations to develop our character and deepen our walks of intimacy…
Warren Wiersbe once said:
“The same God who used Moses’ rod, Gideon’s pitchers, and David’s sling, used Paul’s chains.”
2) He uses EVERYTHING for our good and His glory… We can’t see the “there and then” in the “here and now” (and, may never see it until heaven), but ALL THINGS are useful to the Master.
3) No matter the circumstances, the Lord’s presence is always with us, and He promises He will NEVER leave us!
4) All our difficulties are for a season – there’s always an end – and, in light of eternity what we endure is “momentary.”
Last week, I discovered yet another comforting thought…
What if?
What if the Lord wants to use whatever present hardship I will ever face to promote the gospel through me, as His ambassador for the Kingdom?
What if my current struggles are my brand of chains?
Let me share how I saw this played out in Rome at the recent conference I attended.
On the last morning, before my final speaking session, the ladies are asked to share a particular story of how the Lord met them personally.
One very moving story stuck with me all the way through our debrief, and all the way home. It illustrates how God “puts” us…for the gospel…for His sake…and for other’s sake. This is “Jane’s” story…and, it’s “Mary’s” story, as well (names changed for protection).
A few year’s back, Jane’s life changed drastically following a car accident that left her with brain trauma. It frequently leaves her with vertigo, nausea, debilitating headaches; and, loss of balance is common. In the fall, Jane had signed up for the retreat in Prague, but was unable to attend due to severe, recurring bouts of vertigo. When the Rome retreat opened up, she, again, registered to come, and the Lord made a way. Jane was excited to meet with one of the massage therapists, the Chiropractor, and the Physical Therapist that were signed up to come on this particular retreat (BTW, first time I’ve been on a retreat where we’ve had a PT and Chiropractor) to see how they might advise her going forward.
The first night of the retreat, the craziness of travel, the noise of our chattering attendees, the bright lights in the conference room began to cause increasing dizziness in Jane, and she felt a desperate need to leave, but couldn’t move due to her symptoms. Her small group leader, seemed to notice, and lightly touched her arm, saying, “You need to leave, don’t you?” Mary, then guided Jane out of the room, and helped her get settled.
How did Mary know? I’d spent an afternoon with Mary earlier in the week as she shared her story with me. Last summer, Mary was in a boating accident that left her with stroke like symptoms on the right side of her body, and, yep, a traumatic brain injury. It has taken Mary months of rehab to get to the place where she can walk without help and go back to work……as a massage therapist! She, too, had been signed up to go to the Prague retreat, but had to cancel…
Not only was Jane in Mary’s small group, but Mary was her massage therapist, as well. Mary’s accident “put” her in a position where she could minister to Jane in ways that NO ONE else could on our team. Because of her trials and struggles in recovery, she had an “in” to encourage Jane to keep on persevering, to have hope…and, to continue trusting Jesus for each step into every tomorrow.
But, there’s more to the story. Jane did get to meet with the physical therapist (receiving exercises to continue at home), and several times with the chiropractor on our team. She had an hour long prayer session with one of our volunteers, a fresh new hair cut, and a pedicure. As Jane stood to share how the Lord met her in such a unique way, she said, “Not only have my symptoms subsided substantially over the week, and my balance improved greatly, but in every way God has met me and brought encouragement to my walk with him, to have peace about my health, and to carry on with the ministry where He has ‘PUT’ (yep, there’s that word) me!”
“There is nothing…no circumstance, no trouble, no testing, that can ever touch me, until first of all, it has come past God and past Christ, right through to me. If it has come that far, it has come with a great purpose, which I may not understand at the moment. But, as I refuse to become panicky; as I lift up my eyes to Him and accept it as coming from the throne of God for some great purpose of blessing to my own heart; no sorrow will ever disturb me, no trial will ever disarm me, no circumstance will cause me to fret. For I shall rest in the joy of who my Lord is…”
-author unknown-
Consider yourself “put.”