Waiting strengthens us when in the crucible! Really?

When we are going through a hard time, when we are in a crucible experience, a wonderful passage in the bible for encouragement is Isaiah 40:31 (ESV): ‘those who wait for the Lord will renew their strength.’ The NIV translates the word ‘wait’ as ‘hope.’ As I was going through my crucible experience, I decided to study the passage a bit more and discovered that the root meaning behind the word ‘wait’ is not about waiting for time to pass until something happens or even hoping for something. No, the root meaning is ‘twisting,’ a twisting that produces tension which then makes something stronger.

Engineers at Brown University, in partnership with universities in China, say they’ve developed a simple procedure that strengthens steel without losing any of the material’s plasticity. So simple in fact, that it’s just a matter of twisting it. So as we go through our crucible experiences, remember that the hard time twisting is making us stronger so much so that we shall mount up with wings like eagles; we shall run and not be weary; we shall walk and not faint.

Here is a wonderful object lesson for kids—and adults too! Take a sheet of a paper towel. Grab the opposite corners and twist it until it can’t be twisted any more. It will form something looking like a rope. Now try to tear the paper towel by pulling hard on the ends. The simple twisting has made it very strong!

The book, In the Crucible: How God Sustains and Transforms in Hard Times, has more reflections on God’s work in our lives in hard times.

When in the crucible--in a storm--what is our ballast?

When we are in a crucible experience--one of those storms in our lives--what is our ballast? James wrote (James 1:2-8) that we should count it all joy when we find ourselves in the crucible. Why? Because our faith is being tested and when our faith is tested it produces steadfastness. When steadfastness has its full effect, we become perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. So what is the ballast? James continues: do we lack wisdom? Ask, but ask in faith, without doubting “for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.” Our faith, that is being tested, as it goes through the pounding of the sea, is the ballast! Without it we will be double-minded, unstable, like a ship without ballast, driven and tossed by the wind.
Abba, Father, I thank you that my trust in You becomes the ballast in the storms in my life! Amen!

If we live for happiness, hard times will cause us to question God!

We live in country that celebrates our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We as a country struggle at times with how to best make sure these rights are available to everyone. Even Christians disagree as to the best policies, laws and approaches we need to insure these rights are not infringed upon in any way. But in our zeal to defend these—especially the pursuit of happiness—I wonder, have we come to think that everything that was created was created for our well-being, so that we might be happy? If anything interferes with that right, like going through hard times, we fight back and wonder what God is doing. Have we, as those who follow Christ, been duped into thinking that our main purpose in life is happiness? No wonder living out Luke 9:23 is so hard: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

Five truths about God when in the crucible

 

In Isaiah 41:10 we read that there are the five truths about God that should sustain us when we go through a hard time in the crucible!

I am with you!

I am your God! 

I will strengthen you!

I will help you!

I will hold you!

What more could we possible need or want as we endure hard times in the crucible experiences of our lives than to know that God is with us, that He is our God and that He will strengthen, help and hold us!

Character development in hard times.

In Romans 5:3-5 Paul outlines the reason that we can rejoice when we go through hard times, those crucible like experiences. He does this through a list of traits that each build on the previous. Looking at the list backwards, we know that what is most desired when in a hard time is hope. Paul understands that hope is produced in the life of someone whose character has been developed and proven.  And what produces that kind of character? Paul reminds us that our character is developed as we endure hard times. But exactly  what is character? Or more importantly what does Paul mean by character? In 1 Peter 1:7 Peter describes the various trials we go through as the proving ground for our faith. He writes that the "proven genuineness" of our faith comes from being "tested by fire." The Greek words for "proven genuineness," "tested by fire," and "character" all have the same root which means "to be tried as metals by fire and thus purified." No wonder Paul writes that our character produces hope--character is not just the way someone thinks, feels and behaves--it is a life that is proven genuine by the hard times we experience.  As one goes through those hard times and sees how the Lord continues to time and again sustain and transform, our hope soars and we rejoice!

God's promises when we hit the "pot holes of life"

During this time of the year in New England, as the ground underneath the road thaws, air pockets form, which when cars run over these sections, behold, pot holes. These pot holes are very frustrating. Everything is going along fine and then all of a sudden, bam, a pot hole. Some of these have caused major damage to cars.

When we hit these "pot holes of life" they can throw us for a loop and leave us wondering, God what's going on?

Psalm 37:23-24 provides four truths!

1. He has established our steps, no matter what the path is like
2. We will hit those "pot holes of life"
3. Even though we hit them--we will NOT be cast headlong or fall, why?
4. Because He HOLDS us!

Be encouraged by these truths when you hit those "pot holes of life!"

God Himself is our armor--so needed in hard times!

In Ephesians 6:10-20 Paul describes the need for each of us to put on the full armor of God. This is especially important when are in hard times when we will be at our weakest.

Have you ever wondered how Paul came up with this imagery of the full armor of God? Certainly he knew of the Roman soldier’s armor and the various pieces. But why did he make the associations he did. I have come to believe he was less influenced by Roman armor and more by the references to armor in the OT. For example: 

Genesis 15:1 Declared Himself to be Abram’s shield.

Proverbs 30:5 He is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

Isaiah 59:14-17 His own arm brings salvation—He Himself takes action: He puts on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head.

Imagine that: God Himself is our armor!