FINDING THE LORD IN THE HARD PLACES

Within this blog is a great secret to walking daily with the Lord, and if you’ll pay close attention it is guaranteed to lift your life higher in God.

Let me place myself in a vulnerable position and start with some recent personal experience.

This decade has been a difficult and trying decade for many. Personally, for Carolyn and I it’s been some of our hardest years, especially concerning our health. Don’t preach to me about taking better care of my body and living a healthy lifestyle. That has its place and I’m not opposed to any of that, of course. But for us, it is a different focus. We see our recent health trials as a demonic hindrance to keep us out of the last phase of our calling and finishing our race.

By no means am I comparing myself to the apostle Paul, but he was often hindered by Satan.

“Therefore we wanted to come to you—even I, Paul, time and again—but SATAN HINDERED US.” (1 Thes. 2:18)

In context I realize Paul’s hindrances were not sickness and disease, but the high volume of persecutions he suffered for the gospel’s sake. At any rate, poor health is still a demonic hindrance, especially if you’re living right and walking in love and obedience.

SPIRITUAL GROWTH IN OUR TRIALS

But somehow, ironically, during these trials, I’ve grown more spiritually than perhaps anytime in my life. In our sufferings I have found the Lord to be nearer to me than in our victories. I believe I understand the following verses a bit more.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Cor. 12:9-10)

For years I could not fully understand how Paul actually took pleasure in his trials. Trials are not pleasant. Trials are not fun. Ha! Can anyone bear witness?

But Paul’s great wisdom was to be utterly dependent on the Lord. Believe it or not, that happens mostly in our trials. Thus the reason Paul rejoiced in his trials.

NOAH FOUND GRACE

During the wicked and evil days of Noah when God vowed to destroy every living thing from off the face of the earth it says this:

“But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” (Gen 6:8)

This is a very interesting verse. The Hebrew meaning of the name

Noah comes from the Hebrew ‘Noach’, meaning ‘rest’ or ‘comfort.’ His name reflects God’s intention to bring relief through him. Noah’s life becomes a picture of divine preservation and mercy. His name carries a sense of peace and hope. It reminds believers that God provides rest even in judgment.

Do you have your shouting shoes on? This insight blessed me to no end and has actually transformed my walk with God.

Now without doing any injustice to this verse and upsetting the context of it, let’s read Gen. 6:8 like this.

“Noah (PEACE, REST) found GRACE in the eyes of the Lord.”

Peace and rest is the place where you know you are cooperating with the operative grace of God. Please get that and it will help you immeasurably in your walk with God.

If you’re not resting you’re not tapping into the grace of God.

Faith is a rest that finds grace. It’s a place where you actually stop trying and you die to your own efforts.

“For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.”

“Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest… (v. 11)”

OUR PERSONAL EXAMPLE

Take for example, our own difficult health situation over the last few years, the grace of God has deflected much of it. His peace has ruled our hearts through most of it.

I don’t want to glorify the trials and bore you with every detail, but I will highlight this last diagnosis of prostate cancer. I was stunned by the diagnosis. I didn’t believe I had it. I believed there must have been some mistake. Not only am I doing the will of God concerning my life and calling, but that kind of cancer is nowhere to be found in my family history. How could I have prostate cancer?

As I sat in my urogist’s office with Carolyn hearing the diagnosis of the cancer for the first time, it was almost like God immediately wrapped me in a cocoon of peace. I even tried to worry and be anxious but couldn’t.

That peace found grace. The Lord manifested Himself in the hard place. In spite of the hindrances, and the devil trying to keep us out of this last phase of our calling, Carolyn and I are determined to enter fully into it. And it will be the most fruitful phase of our callings. We will run our race, and by the GRACE of GOD, finish all the Lord has ordained for us to do. You can do the same as you learn to enter into His rest and find grace to help, especially in your time of need.

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)

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