To TEE, a child of God, and to ALL those who suffer

My wife and I were in a church recently wherein there was a man at most every service who was bound to a wheel chair. Being motorized, he would often navigate his way from his home to the church to praise and worship the Lord. He was faithful. One day my wife spoke to me about him and said,
“this man glorifies the Lord by being in that wheel chair.” She was right! Anyone can praise the Lord and worship Him when things in their life are running smoothly. But to praise Him and worship Him when your life is going through difficulty, gives glory and a testimony to the power of God in an individual’s life. How strong that person’s love and commitment towards God in the face of adversity testifies to the strength of the power of God within that person. In an unbelieving world, it testifies to the reality and the presence of the power of God.

We all have read, and have heard about the trials of Job. A righteous man. One who loved God and served Him with fasting, prayer, sacrifices and offerings. No matter what came Job’s way, his faith in God did not waiver.
The trials of Job, losing all of his abundant material wealth, and then his children, followed by being plagued bodily, were not because Job had sinned. He was not being punished or chastised. He was being tested.

We have all been taught that Job was a man of commitment and had great faith in God. But what we NEED to see also, is that not only did Job have faith in God… but God had great faith in Job!

When Satan came before God, flaunting in God’s face the fall of man; God pointed to Job. Job 1:8 says;

And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

We all know what happened after that; Satan declared that Job only served the Lord because he was so blessed and protected, then Satan prompted the Lord to allow Job to be tested through affliction. Poor Job! Job was unknowing of the contest, and for reasons unknown to him, though he had done no wrong, he was now being destroyed! God had great faith in Job to allow such a great test. The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corthinians 10:13 that God will not put upon us more testing than we can bear, and that statement alone tells us just how much faith God had in the degree of Job’s dedication.


The apostle Paul had an affliction. His affliction did not come because of sin or chastisement, but from Satan. Paul even called it “a messenger of Satan”

2 Cor 12: 7-10 tells us;

And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

This ailment that Paul had been given was from Satan, and it kept Paul from becoming overly proud and preaching to others from a standpoint of personal accomplishment! Though he was never healed of his ailment, he continued to preach the power of God and faith despite his personal affliction.

Jesus told him, “my strength is made perfect in weakness.” Like the worshipper who goes to church in a wheelchair, service after service, unstoppable in his praise and worship of the Lord regardless of circumstance, our weaknesses, our infirmities, our hardships, give testimony to the reality of the power of God that He gives us to transcend circumstances and give us an inward joy of being a disciple of Christ that the world cannot understand.

When Jesus told Paul that His strength was made perfect in weakness, Paul responded to that knowledge by saying

“Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

When we are seemingly ‘at our weakest’ in our afflictions, and continue to persevere and give praise and glory to God, it is then when we display the strength of our faith in Him. It is then when we give living testimony to the power of God in our lives that the power of the Holy Spirit, is able, to keep us inwardly strong and looking unto Him, through the fire of trial and affliction. Paul stated in Romans 8: 35-39;

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

In all of these things, especially these things of hardship, does our faith glorify and give honor to the Lord who called us. His strength is made perfect by our weaknesses. We could combine Paul’s declaration that nothing can separate us from the love of God, with Job’s determination and say ‘nothing shall separate us from our love of God!’

My wife spoke a word of wisdom by saying that it matters far more to the Lord the manner in which we go through adversity, than the adversity itself! How true that is! Adversity and affliction will most certainly happen (we are appointed unto affliction), but how we react to those adversities reveal what is inside of us, our level of commitment, even our degree of maturity in the Lord.

The apostle Peter, died a horrible death, as did also the other apostles, but when the Lord prophesied ( John 21:19) about what Peter’s death would be like, that Jesus was

“signifying by what death he should glorify God.”

It is not so much by our ‘blessings’ that give glory to God, as much as our successful accomplishment of hardship when we are at our worst earthly distresses. One of my wife’s favorite things to say is that “it matters far more to the Lord how we go through the adversities of life than the adversity itself.”

My heart goes out to those in the ministry, whether from the pulpit or within the flock, who testify to power of God to heal, yet when they are afflicted they are not likewise healed. Those who encourage faith in those they talk to, yet their own ‘faith in Him’ does not seem to be fruitful. To those who speak of miracles, yet they suffer such hardship. Of all people, these are the ones who might ask, “why me?” After all, the old testament prophets demonstrated their anointing. Even in the new testament, the Lord worked with them with signs following. Still to this day we have those signs within our congregations and testimonies are given to that effect, but when the ministry itself suffers the fire of affliction without remedy, some might feel very alone, not to mention the humiliation. How can he be one whom God has worked miracles through, and speaks of miracles to come, if he has not received them when he has need himself? How can he encourage others to reach out to God in faith when by his own example God has not responded to him? As Christians, we try to keep earthly things in their proper perspective of minor importance, and give weight to the greater matter of spiritual things. But it’s hard to place the spiritual things as having a greater reality when in the physical world we are devastated by the reality of pain, sickness or other calamity! Suddenly the reality of the physical world seems overwhelming and the things of the spiritual man start to disappear as if in a vapor. It seems as if during those times of the greatest need we have for our heavenly Father is when we feel the most alone. Might I add that Jesus went through those same feelings of being ridiculed and alone. “He saved others,” his tormentors said, “why can’t he save himself?” “Physician”, who had healed others, “heal thyself!” And at His darkest moment Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?!” Ah but, who better to be afflicted than the ministry! The ministry is the most perfect choice for such trial. The most perfect choice, for feelings of being alone or even abandoned! Why?
Remember the scripture, “for to whom much is given, much is required?”

The Lord most certainly leads and guides his disciples. He teaches us about faith, commitment, trust, patience, perseverance, obedience, hope, love, sin and judgment. He shows us, by examples in life, by miracles, by divine appointment, by both blessings and chastisements. He shows us all the things He wants us to know. Step by step He shows us and as we learn and follow He shows us more. Like a teacher in a schoolroom, the material to be learned is brought to light. Things to be learned are explained to us and we rejoice with new knowledge. We ask questions and the answer to those questions are explained by the teacher. Once the teacher has given us all the information of the particular learning session, we are tested.
A test is to reveals not what the teacher knows, but what we have truly learned. What would it profit us during a test, if the teacher were still there explaining things? The Lord teaches us, reveals His word, gives us understanding and revelation. He expects us to pay attention and use what He has taught, but when a periodic test begins to happen, it should not surprise us if ‘The Teacher is Silent During Testing.’ Even Jesus, immediately after being filled with the Holy Spirit was tested by Satan and was not given further spiritual assistance until after it’s successful completion. The Teacher is Silent During Testing. What good would it be, if we felt the anointing of His presence during a test.

When the time for occasional testing comes along, be it from the Lord or Satan, we must go through it, and sometimes go through it without feeling the anointing of His presence which gives us strength. Those that minister the gospel, have been taught to a greater degree because of their dedication, and therefore the best choice to be afflicted and tested based upon the abundance of what they have been given to teach others. To whom much is given, much is required… and that leads to greater testing. Let us remember, even though at times of testing, that God does not promise to keep us from trials and afflictions but He promises to be with us through them, even though we feel alone.

Considering these things then, that when we are weak and continue to serve Him, we show his strength; then let us be like the Apostle Paul and glory in our infirmities. Instead of feeling abandoned or unloved, let us realize that, like Job, God is giving us no more than what He thinks we can bear. Let us understand that, like Job, God is having faith in us! What an opportunity then!, to have the chance to live up to what He has given us to bear! Let’s not disappoint Him. Let’s have the same attitude as Job when he was tested and said, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him!” Let us all, no matter what, keep praising Him, keep loving Him, continuing in faith and obedience through the trials of life.

In Acts 16: 23-26; When Paul and Silas were in the bondage of prison they did not pray to be released from it, but instead they praised God with song from the prison they were in! And angels came and set them free. Let us likewise praise Him in spite of harsh conditions and though the flesh might suffer affliction our
Inward man becomes set free of circumstances, enriched, strengthened and gives glory to God.