Future Joy

AFTER SO MANY YEARS of dealing with affliction, I have come to the settled conviction that my heavenly Father values my faith more than any other quality of my life but love (see 1 Corinthians 13:2). In the great cosmic scheme of things, my faith is a very, very big deal to God.

As a result (I’ve finally figured this out), He sends me frequent troubles in order to try my faith. If my faith is worth anything, it will stand the test. Impurities are afraid of the fire, but gold is not. Gems made out of paste dread pressure, but a real precious stone can endure it. A fake Rembrandt will be quickly exposed, but an authentic masterpiece can pass the keen scrutiny of a professional art critic. When it comes to our faith, it doesn’t say much when we can only trust God in the bloom of full health. True faith clings to the Lord even when the body is sick or disabled, and when spirits are depressed.

God absolutely delights in this kind of faith . . . faith that says with Job, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15, NKJV). This is faith that believes even when the smile of God is hidden from view.

The fact is, present afflictions and trials tend to heighten our future joy. A friend of mine recently told me about driving with his wife into a dangerous ice storm in the Pacific Northwest, with trucks jackknifing and cars sliding sideways. As the ice began to coat their windshield, turning their wipers into useless frozen clubs, they tried calling several hotels on their cell phone, but every one was booked up. When they finally found refuge at a nondescript motel a few miles away, it felt like arriving at a magnificent resort. Everything about that modest inn and its restaurant seemed utterly delightful. It was a warm, safe refuge from the danger, difficulty, and storm.

Peace when times are peaceful doesn’t mean as much. But moments of peace in the midst of an upsetting, ongoing conflict become especially precious. The idea of rest can seem a little bit boring. But when that rest comes after a long, winding path up the side of a mountain with a pack on your back, it feels like pure paradise. Even sitting on a wide, flat rock can feel luxurious.

I’m convinced that the recollections of past sufferings may one day enhance the bliss of heaven. Eternity with the Lord will be so much more heavenly to those of us who have been tested, battered, and tried time and again. Remember that today in whatever difficulties you may encounter. God wants to strengthen your faith . . . and prepare you for joy.

GOING DEEPER . . .

But He knows the way that I take;

When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.

Job 23:10, NKJV

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

1 Peter 1:6-7

If the Lord highly values your faith, it makes sense that He will seek to test it, exercise it, and strengthen it. And when you respond in childlike trust in the midst of your difficulties and heartaches, it moves the heart of God. As your faith grows strong, so will your confidence of future joy with Him.