The Discipline of Difficulty
In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. – John 16:33An average view of the Christian life is that it means deliverance
from trouble. It is deliverance in trouble, which is very different.
“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High…there shall
no evil befall thee” – no plague can come nigh the place where you
are at one with God.If you are a child of God, there certainly will be troubles to meet,
but Jesus says do not be surprised when they come. “In the world yet
shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer, I have overcome the
world, there is nothing for you to fear.” Men who before they were
saved would scorn to talk about troubles, often become “fushionless”
after being born again because they have a wrong idea of a saint.God does not give us overcoming life: He gives us life as we
overcome. The strain is the strength. If there is no strain, there is
no strength. Are you asking God to give you life and liberty and joy?
He cannot, unless you will accept the strain. Immediately you face
the strain, you will get the strength. Overcome your own timidity and
take the step, and God will give you to eat of the tree of life and
you will get nourishment. If you spend yourself out physically, you
become exhausted; but spend yourself spiritually, and you get more
strength. God never gives strength for to-morrow, or for the next
hour, but only for the strain of the minute. The temptation is to
face difficulties from a common-sense standpoint. The saint is
hilarious when he is crushed with difficulties because the thing is
so ludicrously impossible to anyone but God.