I became a Christian in my last year of high school, but it was not until college that I really began to understand what it meant to follow Jesus. I had a wonderful church family with a number of strong believers that encouraged me. During college, my mom cheated on and left my dad for the other guy. It was a whirlwind for me, and I assume it was similar for my brother. We really didn't have any idea that she would do this. She came back to him for a little while, but then she left again for good. Later on, when I became engaged to woman I thought I would spend the rest of my life with. We went became missionaries in Alaska for a short time. After about five months, I came back to Texas to search for a job that would support us as we began our life together. I took so time, but I managed to find a beginning, a part-time youth pastor position in Paris, TX. The night before I left, we talked on Skype. She ended it. I was going through some pain at that point so I might have blocked it out, but I don't even remember an explanation, just, "I can't be your fiance anymore." It was a long drive to Paris the next morning.
I have heard it said that we are all either just out of trouble, in trouble, or about to get slammed by some trouble. I can testify that whoever said that dropped some wisdom on us with that particular phrase. Peter said, "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you" (1 Peter 4:12). John told us, "
Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you" (1 John 3:13). These guys spoke from experience. All you have to do to know that is read the Book of Acts, and even that doesn't tell you everything they went through. It stands to reason that if these guys are warning us that things will gets hard, we really shouldn't be taken off guard when our life feels like it is getting flushed. If fact, we should probably expect it.
Satan takes advantage of the fact that we don't keep a firm grasp on God's Word, and he tries to use problems in our personal life to push us away from what God wants us to do. Sometimes it is a number of little problems, and sometimes it's a big one. Either way, he begins hammering wedge between us and God because we believe the lie that says once we become a Christian, everything in this life will go well with us. That's a lie! Jesus never once promised us that. If fact, He was very clear that the opposite would be true, and if anyone tries to tell you this life is going to be wonderful because you are a Christian, you'd better run from that false teacher like he set your pants on fire. Our hope is not in this world. Our hope is in Jesus Christ, and the salvation He bought us in Eternity.
Yet I have seen Christian, strong Christians, who have had legitimate personal tragedies, and they began to retreat within themselves. They pulled back from God, the ministries He had called them to, the church family He put around them, and sometimes they even blamed Him for it. Why? Well, sometimes emotions can make us do things we look back on later and shake our heads, but far too often it is because they have bought into that lie that for Christians, this life is bed of roses. It's not! It's really like a box of chocolates, and sometimes you get that horrible, nasty, toxic sewage waste wrapped in chocolate that as far as I can tell the company puts in there to keep us guessing!
Jesus got a lot of those during His life here. He got the religious leader trying to trap Him. He was rejected by multitudes. He was spit on, hit, despised, tortured, and murdered. Those are some bad chocolates, and He told us, "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours" (John 15:18-20).
I don't know what bad chocolates you have had in your life. It is likely that you have taken some from people inside the church as well as outside the church. Jesus did. He took it from the Jewish religious leaders and got stabbed in the back by both Peter and Judas. Do you know what He did? He leaned on His Father more, and He kept ministering. I find it very troubling when I see Christians going through some hard time, and they let that pull them away from the ministry God has assigned them. It's like taking a wound in combat only to lay down your weapon and walk away. Did you expect it to be easy?
When my mom left my dad, I could have gotten angry at God, but that would have been stupid. It wasn't God's fault that my mom was wrong. He didn't tell her to commit adultery. No, I ministered to her. I told her that this is not what God wanted her to do. She did it anyway, and I think she is still paying for that wrong. When my ex-fiance left me, I could have gotten mad at God, but that would have been dumb, too. She made the choice, and now I'm glad she did. I'm married to a wonderful woman now.
If we
follow the example Jesus gives us, not only will we continue pushing on with any
ministry God has called us to in the hard times, we will lean on God all
the more while pushing harder against the Enemy. That is called being
faithful. When we are faithful to His calling on us, then we can trust that God will take care of us and the hardships going on in our lives.
