Trials and Pain: The Necessity of Wounds

Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word.... It
is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your
statutes.
--Psalm 119:67,71

It is amazing to me! There are people within the ranks of
Christianity who have been taught and who believe that Christ will
shield His followers from wounds of every kind.

If the truth were known, the saints of God in every age were only
effective after they had been wounded. They experienced the humbling
wounds that brought contrition, compassion and a yearning for the
knowledge of God. I could only wish that more among the followers of
Christ knew what some of the early saints meant when they spoke of
being wounded by the Holy Spirit....

In every generation, the people who have found God have been those
who have come to the end of themselves. Recognizing their
hopelessness, they have been ready to throw themselves on the mercy
and grace of a forgiving God.
Men Who Met God, pp. 59,62

"Lord, don't let me waste the humbling wounds. Do Your great work
within me, and help me to respond properly and learn all You want me
to learn through Your working. Amen."
By A. W. Tozer; Men Who Met God, pp. 59,62

In Christ,
John

There is a bumper sticker that says “God Only Uses Cracked Pots!” I agree with the thought behind it but I do not think it goes far enough. In truth, God only uses shattered pots. While we may be able to serve God in some capacity without having been wounded; our ability to serve is limited by our lack of brokenness. Nowhere in the Bible does God tell us us that “In Him, we will not be hurt.” The book of Job is a good example of this point. Job was God’s servant yet God allowed him to be tested (hurt) in ways that we cannot fathom.

It is only when we have been completely broken (think shattered) can God really begin to use us. He will bring us all to that place of personal brokenness, then He will put us back together as He wants us to be. God promises to not give us more that we can handle “13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)

We must surrender ourselves into God’s hands and allow Him to have His way with us. A. W. Tozer states “The devil, things and people being what they are, it is necessary for God to use the hammer, the file and the furnace in His holy work of preparing a saint for true sainthood. It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until He has hurt him deeply.” (The Root of the Righteous, 157.) Whether we call it being “pruned by God” or being “disciplined By God”, the process can be painful to endure. As a piece of marble must be sawed, filed, chiseled and sanded before it can become a beautiful sculpture, we must go through the same process to become what God sees in us.

The one thing that we can hold onto is God’s love for us. As the psalmist said in Psalm 46:1 “1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” We can look to God because He is the one who is taking us through the process of transformation. Again the psalmist said in Psalm 91:2 ““I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."

The process of transformation may be painful to endure but when seek refuge in God (not from Him), we will find rest and peace. We need not be afraid because Jesus has promised us in John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

In Christ,
John