“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”- Martin Luther King Jr.
“As they pass through the Valley of Baka [“trouble”], they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools.”- Psalm 84:6
In Chapter 4 (“Discovering the Joseph Calling”) of The Joseph Calling, Os Hillman notes the purpose of the six stages of the Joseph calling. Through this calling, God brings us to a place where He fully trusts us with everything He’s planned in our lives. When we arrive at the place where we glorify God in the process of pain and suffering, He knows we’re trustworthy.
Most importantly, Os notes what happens when we fail to glorify God in our pit. Ultimately, we’ll fail to glorify Him in our elevation period. In fact, Mr. Hillman contends, we must confront this truth:
“Then truth is that if we walk away from God because of something bad that happens to us, then we never really had a relationship with God in the first place.”
Since God’s goal is to make us servants, stewards, and slaves, adversity plays a crucial role in this process. God designed the adversity period in our lives to “remove our dependence upon titles and accomplishments for our self-esteem. “God brings us to a place where all we want is Christ in us in order to create Christ in others. That is when we know the testing has accomplished it’s purpose.”
As a result, God turns our pit into a well of the Holy Spirit. In the process, He makes a deposit that lasts a lifetime. Thus, as God makes us a new creation, we gratefully reflect this in our lives.
Today’s question: What Bible verses help strengthen your infinite hope? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Our obedience in the valley”