The other day God gave me this statement:
If we can see the UNSEEN; then we can
handle the SEEN.
Paul says in 2nd Corinthians
5:7, “We live by faith, not by sight.”
And folks, living by faith is putting our
hope in the UNSEEN. In fact that’s the definition of faith:
“Now FAITH is being sure of what we HOPE
for and certain of what we DO NOT SEE.”
– Hebrews 11:1
So let’s go back to the statement God gave
me:
If we can see the UNSEEN; then we can
handle the SEEN.
My friends, there is power in that
statement, because the hope for better days can bring a man through a helluva
lot stuff. To me, this proves there is power in FAITH! A person rooted in FAITH
can persevere, endure, overcome – even gain victory over death.
“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author
and perfecter of our faith, who for the JOY set before him endured the cross,
scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
–
Hebrews 12:2
So you see by Jesus focusing on the unseen,
which was being seated with his Father, Jesus was able to handle the seen –
death on the cross.
Rarely in my own life have I been able to
see the UNSEEN, to see the greater lesson in a trial or tribulation. I mean,
the above verses and statements are truth I know that, but you know, until they
come to fruition in my own life – they are just words on a computer screen.
A couple weeks back I was reading a book
called “Seven Seasons of the Man in the Mirror” by Patrick Morley. Toward the
end of the book he wrote extensively on suffering and he had some great
perspective that got me thinking.
“God never allows any suffering, pain or
evil to touch us unless it will bring about a greater good or prevent a greater
evil.” – Morley
“God, as a parent, loves us enough to put
the development of our character before the development of our circumstances.
When He allows a season of suffering, you can be sure that a personal
enlargement lies ahead. God will always add to your suffering the necessary
ingredients to turn it into a blessing, even if it must wait for the age to
come.” – Morley
“Your sufferings are the kisses of Jesus.”
– Mother Teresa
“For God to do an impossible work he must
take an impossible man and crush him.” – Chuck Swindoll
“He whom God loveth, He beateth the hell
out of.” – Jamie Buckingham
There are so many other great nuggets of
truth I’d like to share, but I just don’t have the time. Either way, it finally
hit me – the greater the call on your life, the greater the suffering.
Also, one other thing Morley talked about
in his book that has profoundly changed me, is he wrote down each season of suffering
in his own life – then he asked his readers to do the same.
In the blogs below I’ll go over my three
distinct seasons of suffering. I’ll talk about what God was trying to teach me
during those times, what I learned, what I didn’t learn, the mistakes I carried
into the seasons of success that followed, and how those mistakes chased me
thru my successful times and ultimately led to more suffering.
