The evidence of a good teacher is to eventually fade himself out, as the pupil learns and graduates. There came a time when Elijah had to leave Elisha. In the same manner there comes a time with all of us when all who mentored us, all we relied on, have to go. They were instrumental to teach us to look to Jesus and learn to trust Him. God has used them to encourage us and navigate the circumstances of life, but eventually we all have to learn to look to God and trust Him for ourselves. God never deserts us. Jesus ever encourages us to come to Him personally : “Come…..and learn of Me”, Matthew 11: 28-29. Our problems arrive when we ignore this bidding and seek the advice of “Mr. Google” as our first port of call, (eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil….Genesis 3). Sense knowledge, tree knowledge, must bow and be surrendered when I make Jesus Lord of my life.
Our darkest moments are just times of preparation, learning to trust God for what is to come in the future. Romans 8: 11 “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Christ from the dead dwell in you, He that raised Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwells in you”. We all need a quickening! Initially we have a visitation to draw us to Christ, but His purpose is to DWELL in us, to abide, not just visit! His purpose is for us to “abide in the Vine” (John 15), to know the abiding presence of Jesus Christ in the situations and relationships of our daily lives. It is in the school of life where we apply all that has been revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. It is in the school of the Spirit where we daily surrender our will, our biases, our whole self in order that the Life of Christ may flow freely through vessels being made fit for purpose, in the image of Christ, for God’s glory.
When we truly make Jesus Lord of everything in our lives, the realisation comes that whatever happens to me, He, as Lord, has allowed it and therefore can ultimately be used for His glory. God has a grid over my life, and only what He allows can get through. Only as I surrender do I find the truth of His word: “All things work together for good to those that love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose”. Romans 8:28. We find the answer to what God’s purpose is in the next verse, 29, “….to be conformed to the image of His Son….” So there we have it! God uses all these “trials” to bring me in to closer relationship with Him. As I learn to trust Him, abandon my agendas, I discover a place of rest in Jesus. He establishes in me a confidence in Him, in who He is, my faithful Friend who always has my best interests at heart.
The deeper the trial, the greater victory. In retrospect, with greater light, the purpose of the trial is seen. The stripping away of all that kept me from a closer, deeper walk with Jesus.
One of the most helpful verses of scripture that keeps us on track regards giving thanks. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 “IN everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you”. Our confidence is in the fact that our lives are in God’s hands and we can use every situation to grow in the knowledge of who His word says He is. “The Lord has established His throne in the heavens and His kingdom rules over ALL”, Psalm 103:19.
Our past mistakes and failings do not have to affect our present, or future. In Christ Jesus they can all be exchanged, forgiven and buried at the foot of the Cross through His shed blood and eternal sacrifice. Our new life in Christ encourages us to press on towards the goal. “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection …….not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect, but I follow after, if for that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus……forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth to those things ahead. I press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus”, Philippians 3: 10 – 14.
Let us press forward, living in the NOW of God. “Prove me NOW, says the Lord”, Malachi 3:10.
Photo by Guille Álvarez on Unsplash