“The hard facts of life, which knock some of the nonsense out of us, are God’s facts and his appointed school of character; they are not alternatives to His grace, but a means of it.”- Derek Kidner, Proverbs: An Introduction and Commentary
And Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me of my children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and now you would take Benjamin. All this has come against me.”- Genesis 42:36 (ESV)
Dr. Wayne Stiles continues Chapter 7 of Waiting on God by noting that some of the pain we experience simply comes as part of living in a fallen world. Quite often, however, God allows painful tests in our lives as warnings that something needs to change. Usually, Wayne states, “that something is us.”
Joseph’s father Jacob certainly needed to change. Most noteworthy, take a look at Jacob’s explosive response to the Egyptian prime minister’s request for Benjamin’s presence. Jacob moaned, “All this has come against me.” God set the stage for wrenching from Jacob the potential loss of his entire family. Only then did Jacob concede and surrender to God’s sovereignty.
Therefore, our trust in God must be the thing we hold most dear. As a result, Dr. Stiles stresses, “God requires more from us after he give us what we waited for.”
Specifically, God waits to see if we’ll be willing to give that blessing back. In the New Testament, the original Greek utilizes two words for test:
- dokimaizo– a test for the purpose of approval
- peirazo– a test to show weakness of a point of failure; also translated ‘temptation’
Although occasions occur when it’s tough to discern the difference between a test and a temptation, Dr. Stiles counsels that our response should always- always- be consistent: obey God.
Today’s question: How have the hard facts of life been a means of God’s grace to you? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Preparation through pain”
