When all finally began to make sense!

Many times we just like Job looking upon our lives and our circumstances cannot make sense out of them at all. It seems to us that our challenges and our sufferings are overwhelming and unbearable and we are unsettled under the weight of our ordinary life situations. It seems as though the Lord has lifted Himself out of our lives leaving us under the weight of our own circumstances, but to our surprise the scriptures have a different explanation for us.

Now before we could even look further into this mystery, let us pray for spiritual wisdom and understanding in comprehending the meaning and the strength of our faith.

Many of us after so many years of being a Christian need to return to the basis of our faith, which is the foundational truth of all that we proclaim, which is to be conformed to the image of our Redeemer and Lord Jesus Christ. This reality needs to be the major tone of our spiritual song that we sing to Him.

In doing this spiritual U-Turn we need to remember the cup of our communion and its significance and its reminder to us as often as we participate in it. The shed blood of our Lord through the drinking of the vine on the table of communion is a reminder of the nature of Christ’s journey on earth, which also is our portion in this life also. That is why the letter of Paul to the Corinthian Church emphasizes the virtues of this commonly obeyed commandment in the Church. This act speaks to us as a constant reminder of our journey and of the nature of our calling in Him. Something we all forget much too often.

 We do not want to associate ourselves with the bloodshed for our salvation in conforming to its image.  The blood of Christ Jesus not only speaks of His own suffering, but that it is the only way we would finish our purposes in Him. A very harsh truth for those who would want to bypass the means of their conformation to His image and likeness. An undeniable route chosen for us by His divine grace to establish us in faith with Him.

This very purpose of our call is seldom ignored by us all, since this body of flesh is constantly warring against the work of the Spirit of God. We as the pilgrims on this earth often forget the purpose of our journey on earth and instead of focusing on our final destination we fascinate ourselves with the scenery along the way. By saying this I want to say we take a long time to arrive into the understanding of our call. For a man like Job to whom the scripture inscribes justice in comparison to other men we read that many things remained unanswered until He found His answers from God Himself.

When finally his conversations with his friends and his speech to God was answered by the Lord Himself, then and only then all began to make sense for Him. To the majority of us it is the same today. Our purpose in life is easily forgotten by our constant ignorance of the truth. We shift our eyes from the scriptures to the ordinary challenges of life and in focusing on them we neglect to see the bigger picture.

The real Christianity calls for being able to see the purpose of our call in Him that is to become ultimately more like Jesus in all of our different aspects of life. This is why Apostle Peter speaks about a transformation of our old nature for the new resemblance in Him.   In 1 Peter chapter 5 he describes this resemblance in a challenging way. After discussing the spiritual warfare around all believers he says it in verse 10 of Chapter 5 in this way; “But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal grace by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while perfect, establish, strengthen and settle you”. And in verse 11 says “To Him be the gloryand the dominion forever and ever. Amen”. When I saw the word establish I paused, since I had seen it in another place very recently. Then I said Lord what do you mean establishing us? When the answer came I said oh Lord this is an awe inspiring revelation for me, thanks Lord.

Then I saw its work which was suffering this will drive us to the bedrock of our faith, to our foundation which is Jesus Himself. In suffering we figure out what’s superficial in life, what’s unnecessary, we’re stripped of all the excess baggage and driven to the one thing that we can really build our lives on, Jesus Christ Himself. In that sense, suffering does us all a great service. It evaluates for us what’s superfluous and what is essential.

Through suffering God will settle (establish) a man. The Greek is themelióō, which means to lay the foundations. When we have to meet sorrow and suffering we are driven down to the very bedrock of faith. It is then that we discover what the things which cannot be shaken are. It is in time of trial that we discover the great truths on which real life is founded. It may well drive a man to bitterness and despair; and may well take away such faith as he has. But if it is accepted in the trusting certainty that a father’s hand will never cause his child a needless tear, then out of suffering come things which the easy way may never bring. This will perfect

Our faith in establishing us in the purpose of our true calling in Him.

Also to perfect means to bring us to wholeness, to confirm means to set you and me fast, and to strengthen means to make us strong, to establish us also means to lay us as a foundation.

They all speak of strength. That’s what God wants to do in our lives through the spiritual battles we go through in this life. They ought to encourage us.

But let us not ever forget that God Himself is there battling for us and through this battle we become perfect, confirmed, strong andestablished.

 This is why the Psalmist in Psalm 87 which is a Psalm of the sons Korah through the Spirit of God sees two different distinct people, and seeing them speaks about the future Church whom the Lord would establish for Himself. This awesome revelation of the work of grace in the Church gives us a very great picture of God’s finished work of the cross in us even before it ever brought forth in the natural.

In this great demonstrative work f the future grace brought to us the Psalmist says in verses 5 through7 the following….” And of Zion it will be said “This one and that one were born in her” and the Most High Himself shall establish her”. The Lord will record, when He registers the people; “This one was born there”. Selah

Both the singers and the players on instruments say, “All my springs are in you”.

Wow what a glorious picture of the new covenant bride’s sanctification and her establishment in Him?  This awe inspiring work of God’s grace is such a contrast to the self efforts made by the Old Testament bride of Yahweh? Look at verses 1 & 2 now and see the greatness of Zion in comparison to all the dwelling places of Jacob.

Here is where if look at the beginning verses of Psalm 87 we will read the following… “His foundation is in the holy mountains. The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of you O city of God!”

Here is where foundations are mentioned and Here is where Zion’s gates are praised more than the dwellings of Jacob. I trust the Psalmist sees through futuristic eyes’ the strength and security that is offered through grace to the Church. Jacob’s dwellings I believe speaks of His own strength to accomplish what only God could do. That is why this Psalm speaks of all that God Himself would do for His own chosen people to register and  to establish them through whatever means He chooses fit.

This is when finally all things will begin to make sense!

Amen?