Refiner's Part II

God has two functions in the refinement process of rejection: to increase my love-walk and decrease my fear. Yes, God was refining me through the rejection that I have experienced, but God also was refining the people involved too, although they may not have realized it. There are usually two dancers in a tango, but in a spiritual dance, there are three counting God. Think about the fact that God used Stephen's death to lead to Paul's conversion.

Although I had to choose to wrestle through my disappointment, I never considered climbing back into Abba's arms for a time-out from the body of Christ. Instead, I talked to a wise counselor and poured out my heart. She assured me that I was being promoted. I don't quite like how promotion feels. Oh well. But, I do so love God, and I am gaining His heart for his children, my spiritual siblings.

I want to say that I am a person who can't be cut or wounded, but that would be a lie. Yet, I desperately want to be Christ-like and forgive those who wound me because they are not aware of what they do. I want to be like Jesus who cried, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:24). Or Stephen who asked that God not count his assailants' sin to their account as he was being stoned: "Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep" (Acts 7:60).
Stephen had his eyes on Jesus. It was the same for the prophet Isaiah. He only recognized the Lord in the year that King Uzziah died (Isaiah 6:1). God had been speaking that scripture to me. I needed to get my eyes off the people, my kings, and rest in God.  It is natural to want to be loved and accepted, but when I get my eyes off of God, I have made that person an idol.Whatever I do, I must do it unto the Lord.

I bless God that I did not run from these people or question God's goodness. God's nature is good, and even though I don't understand it, He obviously has a greater purpose in my suffering. As I got quiet, I sensed growth in me, but I recognized a deeper need to trust Jesus in people-trust that God is perfecting them and me. I want to shout with Mary:

My soul glorifies the Lord

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has been mindful

of the humble state of his servant.

From now on all generations will call me blessed,

for the Mighty One has done great things for me—

holy is his name.

His mercy extends to those who fear him,

from generation to generation.

He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;

he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts

Luke 1:46-52

Being Refined,

MJ

Rejection and Fools Gold!

What do you want in a spouse? What do you want in a friend? These questions are not merely rhetorical. I’m sure I sound like a short-order cook, but I am feeling more like an old-time miner. Rejection is like that pan that those old-timers used to sift through the dirty water and debris in order to find the gold nuggets hidden in the river’s bottom.

As I have been dealt some blows, the worth in my relationships have become brilliantly clear to me like gold ore shining in the light of the sun as it beats on the shallow water depths in that miner’s pan. The fool's gold proves to be true to its name. It looks like the real-thing until adversity takes a bite out of the relationship. I hope you can learn from my experiences. So, go back and answer those questions, will you? Now, ask yourself what kind of friend and spouse do you want to become. Interestingly, rejection will get you closer to the person you want to see in the mirror.

I know rejection can be a good teacher. In fact, I have written in my blog about rejection before. Recent events had led me to a deeper revelation: the longer the rejection, the greater the impunity of its effects, the greater the call God has on one’s life. Think about it. Moses spent forty years in the desert after trying to rescue a couple Israelites from destroying each other. He ended up shepherding some gnarly sheep for forty years. All those years were a mere set-up for forty years with the true gnarly sheep, the nation of Israel. He obviously learned his lesson because he often found himself face down before G-d Himself. 

 That’s what people’s rejection can do for you- it can drive you to your knees making you the most-humble man or woman, an awesome intercessor, a friend of God, one who abides in His presence, and sees and carries His glory. YAHOO! Don’t let people drive you away from you’re Abba. Instead, run like crazy to Him and hide the tabernacle of His praise when you find yourself holding onto a piece of fool's gold.

Let’s look at Caleb, whose unceremonious name means dog. That’s got to bite. Pun intended. But he had the last laugh. He was one of two who made it into the Promise Land of the original people who left Egypt (Numbers 14:29-30; 26:64-65; 32:11-12).  Moreover, when God spoke of him, he said that His servant Caleb had a different kind of spirit. It takes a different kind of spirit to believe God when everyone else doubts.

Caleb was a warrior; despite the fact that he was a descendant of Esau, he grabbed a possession with the rest of Israel. He fought bravely claiming, "I am eighty and I am strong as when we first left Egypt." Wow! He took the name dog and rose up with a legacy that few have ever matched. So much for rejection:

"Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land, which I sware to give unto your fathers, Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the LORD"  (Deuteronomy 1:35-36).

The truth was that Caleb was an intercessor and a buffer for the people; he “quieted the people before Moses," and said, “Let us go up at once, and occupy it; for we are well able to overcome it” (Numbers 13:30). He resolutely proclaimed “If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us” (Numbers 14:8). In his attempt to motivate the people to go up and possess the land which God had promised (Genesis 17:8), he insisted stirred up the people's wrath to the point that they wanted to kill him (Numbers 14:10). Imagine that! Believing God and exhorting people to believe was worthy of the death penalty. Truly, going back to Egypt was fool's gold, but trusting in God was where they real value lie, and Caleb knew it.  God declared, " But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it" (Numbers 14:24).

Listen friend, when God accepts you, the whole world must shut its mouth like it did before Caleb. What does rejection offer you: resiliency, courage, and undivided devotion to whom and what matters most- you remember those gold nuggets the next time you hear a door shut in your face. I must tell you that I believe that the greatest gift that rejection provides is the ability to love people who have wounded and hurt you and the ability to extend grace because you have received grace and mercy straight from the throne room.

A Fellow-Miner,

MJ
I would like to acknowledge Francine Rivers for her insightful work on the life Caleb and Ginger Garrett for her exhortation on the purpose of rejection.

Lessons to take with you on the road of trouble

 

1.     Recognize God’s hand in the problem.

2.     Recognize that  He is doing something through the problem.

3.     Recognize that what He is doing good for you and others.

4.     Work to multiply the positive benefits of God’s work through the trouble.

5.     Expect a beneficial effect  for the trouble.

•  

Expect Divine Encouragement for Others (Psalm 110 v. 74)-

May those who fear you rejoice when they see me; for I have put my hope in your word.”

Expect Divine Provision in Affliction (Psalm 119v. 50)

Expect Divine Prevention in Affliction (v. 67)

Expect Divine Purpose in Affliction (v. 71)

Expect Divine Providence in Affliction (v. 75)

Expect Divine Protection in Affliction (v. 92)

Expect Definite Prayer in Affliction (vv. 107, 153)

The Game of Trouble

“God comforts us in all our afflictions so that we may be able to 
comfort them which are in trouble, by the comfort 
wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God." 
2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Psalm 46:1-4  declares that “God is our strong refuge; he is truly our helper in times of trouble.  For this reason we do not fear when the earth shakes, and the mountains tumble into the depths of the sea, when its waves crash and foam, and the mountains shake before the surging sea. (Selah).”  Pause and reflect on God’s ever-present help at all times. The Father of mercies concerns Himself with every big and small thing in our lives. As I went through surgery this week, I expected the surgeon to remove the three large tumors that I had been found on the ultra-sound, but when a fourth large tumor was found, I was not surprised to learn that the surgeon had removed it as well. God is like that He knows what is hidden that is causing us problems, and He works quickly to tackle that problem as well.

At the end of the surgery, over a dozen tumors were discovered. The doctor quipped that with all my tumors I could field my own baseball team. The surgeon could have left the small ones, but he even removed the ones the size of pebbles.  He got all the tumors. God is similarly thorough in healing us.   All afflictions. . . all comfort. The word all in the Greek signifies every kind, every variety, the whole or all of them. He is the ultimate spiritual, mental, and physical Healer. He heals from the least to the greatest. He did not settle for the blind man simply regaining his eyesight, he demanded that the man have 20/20 vision. It was not good enough that the man limp out with his mat, but he went out limping and jumping with joy.

God does not waste our trouble. Although the doctor warned me about the possibility of a complete hysterectomy, which would mean for me total infertility, without ever having enjoyed giving birth. Bitterness could have easily mounted in my heart. I could recall the many women I know who have enjoyed motherhood while not obeying God’s word. Yet, in the midst of this trial, I chose to trust God’s promise and provision.  David aptly describes God’s compassion, “Like as a father pities his children, so the Lord pities them that fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:13-14). He became Immanuel, God with us, so that He could completely identify with our existence as created beings (Isaiah 7:14).

Because He is rich in mercy (Ephesians 2:4), His supply never diminishes no matter how many spiritual tumors we have. He has infinite patience with our distrust and fear. His greatest comfort is salvation (Titus 3:5; Romans 8:32). Since God gave us Jesus, we know that He will give us all that we need: In all [our] affliction he [God] was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bore them, and carried them all the days of old”( Isaiah 63:9). Jesus totally met the payment for our sins and then he mounted his seat next to the bima and began to intercede on our behalf (Hebrews 9:24), where he ever lives to make intercession for [us] (Hebrews 7:25). He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities (Hebrews 4:15), not merely theoretically but practically. While here on earth, he understood pain, loss, hunger, and discomfort because He experienced a completely human life.

Before leaving His disciples, He gave them a gift: “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth. . . . I will not leave you comfortless (John 14:16-18). Jesus promised all of His disciples continued support. He promises His unique kind of comfort- inexhaustible and unchangeable, unlimited.

We are prone to forget all that God has provided for us even in the person of the Holy Spirit, the divine Paraclete: My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1).The word advocate is the same Greek word translated comforter. As a mother comforts her child, so God comforts us (Isaiah 66:13) even in our trials. Remember, these problems are producing an eternal glory despite their light and momentary effect (2 Thessalonians 2:16).

Please don’t shut God out of this trouble. Let Him comfort and love on you.

Fellow-Traveler and Pilgrim of Comfort,

MJ