7.25.09
Thank God for
the Struggle
Joseph
Early
training: sheep, stories of faithfulness and struggles in Abraham, Isaac, Jacob
Doing
right became part of his routine
Respecting the rights and property
of others (would come in handy later on)
Large families: you learn
boundaries, especially as a young brother
Honesty
became a part of his routine
Joseph felt obligated to tell his
parents when his brothers were up to no good
Don’t be
ashamed of your dreams—some of them are given you of the Lord
Sheaves
Sun,
moon, and 11 stars
Later
interpretation of dreams would save
Struggle
in sibling and parental rejection/rebuke
Rebuke is important for young
people, but only for a good cause
Ill-placed rebuke becomes toxic
Two young murderers at Columbine had been rebuked and
picked on unfairly
Able,
with God’s help, to forgive his parents and brothers
Struggle
in abandonment: thrown in a pit, sold to Midianites
Able,
with God’s help, to forgive his brothers, and to find his comfort in his God
Struggle
in resentment: sold to Potiphar, hard labor
Able,
with God’s help, to allow himself to be trained and molded by God
Temptation
to reject God, live a little, after all he had been through enough hardship
already
Enter
Mrs. Potiphar
And it came to
pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and
she said, “Lie with
But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not know
what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my
hand. There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back
anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do
this great wickedness, and sin against God?”
Genesis 39:7-9
Ongoing
attempts by Mrs. Potiphar
Tearing his clothes
Able to
make split second decision when necessary (flee—no negotiation)
Due to godly upbringing (respecting
elders, boundaries)
Due to previous struggles resolved
Daniel
Early
training: rich history of both faithfulness and disobedience on part of God’s
people
Daniel’s
context: steadily deteriorating conditions, idolatry, having to daily choose to
live for God when many of his friends were not
Purity
became a part of his routine
Loyalty
to God became a part of his routine
Never think that just because you are a young person your
daily routine and decisions will not impact you later
Struggle
in isolation, and separation from his family
Able to
vent his anger, pain, and emotional turmoil to God (audience of One)
Struggle
in becoming a Eunuch
Humiliating, no hope for a future
family of his own
Able to
find true manhood in relationship with his God
Restoration of personhood
Struggle
in pressure to conform to surroundings, in diet and lifestyle
After all, who would know? Wouldn’t get in trouble or anything
Able to
reject the unhealthy food and wine of
But Daniel
purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the
king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of
the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. Daniel 1:8
To purpose something in your heart
takes daily prayer, consecration, effort
Daniel had been purposing in his
heart to obey God since childhood
Wine of
Close connection between what we eat
and what we discern/believe
Struggle
in temptation to simply let go of God, and blend in to surroundings
Able to
worship God in an unholy environment
Continued to start each and every
day in prayer
The Holy Spirit brought Scripture
promises and principles to his mind
The Value of Struggling
My brethren,
count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of
your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work,
that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks
wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach,
and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he
who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. James 1:2-6
The
trials that we endure produce patience in us
Patience
has a way of completing us
Each
trial, each temptation, involves a struggle, a choice
We are
strengthened by the trial, as we make decisions for God, as we obey
The
struggle resolved helps us to make quick decisions in the future, decisions
that will affect our spiritual survival and eternal happiness
So, how
is your faith being tested? Where is the
struggle in your life?
Is it in the area of
abandonment? Do you feel isolated and
all alone in this world?
Is it in the area of rejection? Have those whom you care for misunderstood
you and left you out in the cold?
Resentments. Maybe
you are still hung up on the negative treatment of others.
Is it in the area of diet?
Do you understand the principles of health reform, yet find it difficult
to practice those principles? Do you
continue to eat cheese, even though it continues to contribute to the clogging
of your arteries? Do you continue to
drink caffeinated beverages, even though it actually slows down brain activity,
and contributes to hypertension?
The
choices we are making now in our current struggles with have a direct bearing
on our success and survival in the future.
If we are relying on God in our current struggles, and obeying Him in
the little things, those resolved struggles will help us to make
spur-of-the-moment decisions for God in the future.
Daniel
was able to flat out refuse the unhealthy food of
That is
how it will be for us, if we are making good decisions in the here and now.
But recall the
former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle
with sufferings: 33
partly while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and
partly while you became companions of those who were so treated; 34 for you had compassion on me[h] in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods,
knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in
heaven.[i] 35
Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so
that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:
37 “ For yet a little while,
And He[j] who is coming will come and will not tarry.
38 Now the[k]just shall live by faith;
But if anyone draws back,
My soul has no pleasure in him.”[l]
39 But we are not of those who draw back
to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul. Hebrews 10:32-39
Here the author of Hebrews (probably Paul) says that after his
readers were illuminated or born again, they endured a great struggle. You know, the battle doesn’t even begin until
we are baptized, and begin a new life with Christ.
We are told that there were two sources of these struggles: 1. taking flack for being a Christian in a
heathen environment, and 2. helping others who were also being attacked because
of their faith in Jesus.
Now, it would have been easy for them to just let go of their
faith, and blend in to their society.
And it is easy for us to do the same thing. Who would know? It’s the easier route. But it’s deadly.
The key statement in this passage is: For you have need of endurance, so that
after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.
The faith
struggles that we go through build patience and endurance in us. If we can pass the test of our current
struggles, making decisions for God and righteousness, then this endurance will
be ours. When we do the will of God, we will
receive the promise. And the promise is
wonderful!
For yet a little while,
And He who is coming will come and will not tarry.
Jesus is
coming again! Thank God for the
struggle, because struggles build patience and endurance in us, and help us to
be ready for His return!
You know
you’re living if there is a struggle!
Must be
on the right track if there is a struggle!
Must be
in the
Now the just shall live by faith
We come
to Jesus in faith, and we continue to live by faith. The entire Christian life is one of
faith. Faith in the love and power of
God. Faith that He will do what He says
He will do. Faith to live by.