First a Test, Then Some Rest...
Wednesday, January 13, 2010 at 8:22AM 
Greetings, Dear Friends!
And to those visiting, I say welcome! I post every Wednesday and my sole purpose is to nourish your soul along the way. Each month I give away a $10.00 Starbucks gift card to someone who posts on my blog. So share a story or an insight, bless lots of people, and just maybe you'll win a jolt of java for you and friend!
Also, this Friday (January 15th), my Quarterly E-zine releases. This is a real treat for my subscribers. A number of my author friends give away free copies of their books, I write a timely devotional, offer great book recommendations, give ministry updates, share quotes that move me, and offer you a prayer to send you on your way. Lots of takeaway for you! If you're not on my mailing list, be sure to go to my website and subscribe so you can receive this FREE publication.
Now on to my topic...
We just returned from a 2000 mile road trip (we moved my youngest son across the country for college). I had lots of time in the car to read, pray, and reflect. And believe me, I needed it. I know I've mentioned this one or two times but this past year has been a refining one for me. I know it has been for many of you as well.
Be encouraged today, my friend. God never intends for us to live in the valley of suffering or in a season of refinement. This too shall pass. Jesus is intent on seeing His reflection in us and He'll do whatever it takes to remove the dross that dims us. For the Christ follower, there are possibilities in every ounce of pain, there are treasures in every single trial, and God won't leave us in the fire one moment longer than is necessary. We are precious to Him and He is making something beautiful in us.
Let's look at a couple of scenarios where God ministered restoration after the test:
Joseph (of the Old Testament): He was betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused and imprisoned. But he honored and trusted God through it all. After the trial, Joseph triumphed: "Until the time came to fulfill His word, the Lord tested Joseph's character. THEN, Pharaoh sent for him and set him free. The ruler of the nation opened his prison door. Joseph was put in charge of all the King's household, he became ruler over all the King's possessions (Psalm 105: 19-21).
Job was a good man. He was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. Satan asked permission to sift Job and 'prove' that he wasn't as upright as he seemed. Job endured unimaginable crisis, one after the other. Amazingly, Job honored God through his first phase of testing. But when his 'friends' seemed too much for him, Job tried to defend himself. God knew, that underneath all of Job's wonderful qualities, was a core belief - albeit understandable - that he had a leg to stand on before God. Once God spoke, Job humbled himself and said, "Surely I spoke of things too wonderful to me." God never stopped loving Job, in fact He honored Job by confronting Job's 'friends' on Job's behalf. He lifted Job out of the ashes and restored him to a better state than he was before: "After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before" (Job 42:10).
If you are walking through a time of refining or testing, don't lose heart. Do your best not to complain, gripe, gossip, or lose hope. Don't camp here, don't make big decisions here; and don't make empty promises here. You won't do it all perfectly and God doesn't expect you to. His mercies cover our imperfections. Even so, to triumph amidst is our trials is to humble ourselves like Job did; honor God like Joseph did; and speak the Word like Jesus did in the wilderness! In due time, He WILL lift us up and bless us before a watching world. How we handle this test will determine how we fare once this season has passed. Trust in the Lord, He is with you and He will restore you!
He brought me out into a spacious place. He rescued me because He delighted in me (Psalm 18:19).
~ Until next week
Reader Comments (18)
(Did you get my email with my address for the gift card? I'm so excited! Thanks a million!)
Day Two: Decided to make myself a Chai Latte at home on my expresso machine that I clearly do not know how to use. Poured the amount of Soy I thought I needed for size drink I wanted and proceeded to “steam”….water was filling my Soy pot thus it was overflowing very quickly..once the overflowing soy had filled the tray underneath my pot it proceeded to flow all over the counter and onto the floor. So I pulled the pot out (not without burning my fingers on the metal wand as I struggled to get the steamer out of the pot)…and dumped all the soy as it was water logged. I ran up to ask Lexie (my daughter and live in Barista) for help and left the steamer on (unbeknownst)…I came back down, with NO help BTW, and the steamer was shooting steam and water all over the kitchen…so three T-towels later I had that all mopped up and decided to try again (since I was already late for work – moments earlier I had been so pleased with myself because I was running on time and even had a healthy salad made for my lunch)….pour ½ the amount of soy in this time and steamed it up to about 120 degrees (supposed to be 160 on our thermometer)…and just poured in some Chai syrup (tasted it and them some more syrup, tasted it and them some more syrup) and exited as quickly as possible. Got to my car, turned it on and remembered I was totally out of gas. I knew this the night before, but thought I would fill it when I stopped at Starbucks in morning (totally forgetting that I wasn’t doing that)….So off I go for gas. Once I had a tank full of gas and cup full of mediocre Chai…I thought to myself…”Well at least this isn’t impure/dirty water that I am drinking – it tastes like crap but it will not kill me or make me sick and hello? I actually have an expresso machine to make one with…not to mention I have a car and have money for gas and I have a job to be late for”. Lesson noted.Day Three: I decide to make a real Tazo Chai tea using a tea bag and just add soy and sugar. I do this and it is not bad…not Starbucks but not dirty or impure or going to make me sick or kill me.Day Four: Lexie ends up being available right in the moment when I would be making a Tazo Chai latte so I ask for her help and she actually makes the Latte for me and shows me how to do it properly so I leave home with a decent latte for a change (Lexie works at Starbucks so she should know) although she tells me a homemade latte will never ever taste the same as at Starbucks because they don’t actually sell the exact ingredients they use (obviously they want you to keep coming to Starbucks)….so we put it in a nice take out Christmas mug that belongs to Andrew and off I go. Quite pleased that finally I have a great homemade latte….but it cools off real fast so I put it in the microwave at work to heat it up and I start to smell a heavy chemical smell coming from the kitchen. I race in, open the microwave and Andrew’s cup is all melted and burned and my latte contaminated. How was I to know the paper design inside the cup had metal in it….so I have to dump the latte (throw out the beautiful collectors cup(one less thing to pack in the move) or I would be putting myself in the same kind of risk as the Africans. So back to making myself a cup of chai tea and just adding soy and sugar.Now tell me…is it worth it? Do I really need this Tazo Chai this desperately? Probably not…but it has made me appreciate the convenience of being able to indulge in Starbucks. An appreciation for someone else’s expertise. An appreciation that I can easily afford to have someone else make my morning drink with superior products. I am starting to think that by the time I am done this month…I won’t even like Starbucks Tazo Chai’s anymore after I get used to sad and pathetic taste of my cheap imitations. I may like them better.
I loved, LOVED your story. Thanks SO much for posting it! I love your honesty, your conviction, your willingness to sacrifice, and your authenticity in sharing how our noble efforts will often be tested. You made me laugh and you reminded all of us how as Believers, we ARE called take part in the bigger picture and to be the hands and feet of Christ to a world in need. Bless you, my sister. I SO appreciated this post.
I'm so glad that this week's post encouraged you! And yes, I did receive your email and your card will go out within the next several days. We just returned from a six-day road trip, moving our son away to college. Enjoy your java and thanks for posting! Blessings~
Like I wrote before, I LOVED your story and I loved how you forged ahead, especially in light of the valley you're in right now. You are an inspiration! And may this be a year where you truly cross over into the next place God has for you!
Thank you so much for your weekly encouragements. They have been such a great thing for me at this time in my life. I am praying daily for the ministry God has entrusted you with.
It was tough saying goodbye to my baby even if he is six foot two and and twenty years old. He is going to school to be a surgical nurse. Thanks for the post. Bless you!
Great post. Thanks so much for sharing your pastor's wise words. I'm sure many of our readers will benefit from those insights as well.
God bless you!
It's so great to know that your soul is nourished by these posts. And, I can't thank you enough for your prayers. I welcome them with deep appreciation.
Blessings to you!
II Thess. 1:11-12 (NLT) "So we keep on praying for you asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May He give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way your live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ."
BLESS YOU!
meant to say -MAKES ME THINK
:)
Great passage! I love it! Thanks for sharing!
God has inconceivable, big plans for His people. May we live up to our high calling in Christ Jesus!
I LOVED your post! I'm a little behind on my replies as of late. :)My favorite line in your post was this one: "often these times are opportunities for an intimacy and closeness with God not usually experienced in other seasons of life. But it's our choice to take that opportunity." Loved it. Thanks for posting!