I'm a bit behind in "Streams in the Desert" so I started back a few days when I sat down with my coffee and actually took a moment to read this morning. This was a tough passage to read, but it was one of those good pains that heal even as they hurt.
July 19
Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me? (John 18:11)
To "drink the cup" was a greater thing than calming the seas or raising the dead. The prophets and apostles could do amazing miracles, but they did not always do the will of God and thereby suffered as a result. Doing God's will and thus experiencing suffering is still the highest form of faith, and the most glorious Christian achievement.
Having your brightest aspirations as a young person forever crushed; bearing burdens daily that are always difficult, and never seeing relief; finding yourself worn down by poverty while simply desiring to do good for others and provide a comfortable living for those you love; being shackled by an incurable physical disability; being completely alone, separated from those you love, to face the trauma of life alone; yet in all these, still being able to say through such a difficult school of discipline, "Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?" -- this is faith at its highest, and spiritual success at its crowning point.
Great faith is exhibited not so much in doing as in suffering. Charles Parkhurst
In order to have a sympathetic God, we must have a suffering Savior, for true sympathy comes from understanding another person's hurt by suffering the same affliction. Therefore we cannot help others who suffer without paying a price ourselves, because afflictions are the cost we pay for our ability to sympathize. Those who wish to help others must first suffer. If we wish to rescue others, we must be willing to face the cross; experiencing the greatest happiness in life through ministering to others is impossible without drinking the cup Jesus drank and without submitting to the baptism He endured.
The most comforting of David's psalms were squeezed from his life by suffering, and if Paul had not been given "a thorn in the flesh" (2 Cor 12:7 KJV), we would have missed much of the heartbeat of tenderness that resonates through so many of his letters.
If you have surrendered yourself to Christ, your present circumstances that seem to be pressing so hard against you are the perfect tool in the Father's hand to chisel you into shape for eternity. So trust Him and never push away the instrument He is using, or you will miss the result of His work in your life.
Strange and difficult indeed
We may find it,
But the blessing that we need
Is behind it.
The school of suffering graduates exceptional scholars.
----
May I be honest? I didn't apply to this school, came to it kicking and screaming, and have put in a request to drop out countless times, only to be denied each and every time. In my weakness and flesh, I don't want to be an exceptional student here! How far I am from saying "Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?". I thank God that He is a patient and persistent instructor, even when I need remedial classes because I keep flunking out.
He also provides small glimpses of the fruit of these classes in small opportunities to minister to others. For reasons known only to Himself, He has me in and out of the hospital regularly, interacting with many other parents as well as the employees of the hospital. He has me in the public school system, a place I never dreamed I would go. And He shows me, when I'm willing to open my eyes and look up from my own struggles, that so many others are out there without hope and without resource. It is in those moments when I catch a piece of His vision and can begin to concede that the work He is doing on my heart and my character is much needed, not only for my own growth but for ministry to others.
