As we walked through a small nature preserve near our house, my son surprised me when he said, “God was pretty amazing when He made swamps.” “Really?” I responded quizzically. I was a little incredulous as to the combination of the words swamp and amazing. Pointing to the vibrant red branches of a particular plant and the tangled arms of thick vines, he explained in his 9-year-old way that the swamp held both beauty and chaos.
The same is often true in our Christian walk. The path before us may seem twisted with vines and the way uncertain, only to open up later to the revelation of great beauty. For the believer, the issue is not whether persecution and hardship will come. They’re to be expected. But just as Paul reminded Timothy to follow his example, we’re to leave behind a legacy of teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, and perseverance in the midst of whatever difficulties life brings our way (2 Timothy 3:10-12).
On several occasions, Paul received prophecies that pointed to impending heartache for him (Acts 21:4,11). Undeterred by the Judaizers who called for his death, he remained steadfast to the beauty found in God’s sovereignty (Acts 21:13). Because Paul was already dead before he ever died (Galatians 2:20), the wisdom of man couldn’t move him from the purpose of God. Every trial became an opportunity for the character of Christ to be made manifest in his life.
Choosing to find beauty in the swamp doesn’t mean that we romanticize the brokenness we suffer or that we idealize our ability to survive. Rather, it means we recognize that the truth of God stands above the opinions of man (Acts 21:14). Most of all, it moves us from the position of helpless victim to that of valiant overcomer.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: John 10:1-18
More:
Read Revelation 12:9-11 to consider our trials from heaven’s point of view.
Next:
What are some current chaotic situations you are facing? What lessons of beauty might they offer? Why must we refuse to be defined as victims in the difficult places of life?
alli on August 10, 2012 at 12:58 pm
life sucks. but then it doesnt. but sometimes it really does. im learning that we must view God as He really is, He’s not the reliever of all my heartaches and troubles sometimes He allows it (b/c of our sin, or others) and sometimes HE doesnt stop it from being bad. but since going through a bad trial im dealing with now i have come to see GOD who is really is, not my personal issue solver, although He may solve some of my problems but generally that’s not about me but HIM and his glory other times HE may not, but expecting Him to be something other than HE is is a surefire way to set you up for hardache. the truth is life can suck, but God is still good.
regina franklin on August 30, 2012 at 9:18 pm
Dear Alli,
My apologies for responding so late. You make a great point. We don’t define God by the circumstances that come our way or whether or not we feel He has answered the way we desired. He is God, our Maker, and we do not make Him.
daisymarygoldr on August 10, 2012 at 11:23 pm
Great post, Regina! You are right; “Every trial became an opportunity for the character of Christ to be made manifest in his life.” Chaotic situations can become opportunities for God to speak into our lives and create beauty that reflects the image of His Son. God is author of beauty—not of chaos. Perfect beauty was in Eden but chaos with all its crookedness exists outside the garden and is the consequence of sin a.k.a lawlessness or disorder.
“Civilization begins with order, grows with liberty and dies with chaos.”–Will Durant – American Historian. When we use the liberty of Christ to serve our flesh it leads to destruction. In my own life, I have seen that whenever I chose to disobey God’s Word, it unleashed unrest and untold pain. God uses our difficulties to turn us to Himself. When life becomes a big mess it is a reminder that we need to get back to God and His Word.
In the very first chapter of Genesis we are given a glimpse of the darkness that existed without God’s light. Just as God brought life out of the barren darkness, His creative power continues to bring beauty out of our brokenness. And because of this truth, all those who are in Christ do not get bogged down by a victim mentality. It is ‘in’ all these things—hardship and troubles we are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ (Romans 8:37).