Nougat 5

Are there conditions that you’d place before accepting the offer? Why/not? Does that apply to God’s blessings also? Perhaps you’ve said no, it doesn’t apply, and you know yourselves well enough to know your truth. But I know that even in the face of Today’s Holy Nougat, I sometimes want to place conditions on my blessings

““Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭NRSV‬‬

The Blessedness of Suffering

My peeps, I believe it is Paul who said, we can’t share in Christ’s glory and not expect to share in His suffering (see Romans 8:17-18). That’s not always easy to swallow. For, at the very least, we figure that God’s nature should remove any sadness or negativity from our lives. In light of Who God is, the temptation is real, but it’s exactly wrong. Since The Fall however, Human sin introduced human suffering, and therein lies the challenge.

Because there’s likely to be very few amongst us who have not had a moment of wondering whether the Cup of Suffering we’re facing is of God. Didn’t Jesus Himself ask for an end to His suffering? Didn’t Job? Especially during the moment, it surely doesn’t seem that blessings and suffering go together.

Yet, I know from my own experience that when the going gets rough my prayer life tends to improve proportionately. Not always focusing directly on the suffering as sometimes I’m trying to appease God, just in case the suffering or persecution etc. is a consequence of my own sinfulness. At other times, owing to my increased time in God’s presence, I’m more focused on others.

I believe the blessing comes when we are able to intentionally focus on Jesus amidst our suffering; recognizing that our ability to praise our way through may be the testimony for someone else to persevere. In that vein, I sense that even the angels sent on assignment see us differently, and perhaps it’s the combination of such factors that constitutes the blessing. As in: God’s bragging on us (Job-style), angels working on our behalf and perhaps lauding our faithfulness, God’s Spirit and Jesus in ongoing intercession for us to overcome, our hearts focused solely on Christ – the Author and Finisher of our Faith – not only working together for our good, but also helping others to understand God’s grace more and more.

I can’t say I’m at the place where I count it all Joy (see James 1:2-3), not even temptation is joy in such cases. I am open however, to my overcoming being a point of testimony for someone else to know God. Being blessed isn’t merely the good stuff; it’s the evidence of the Presence of God’s Spirit in our lives at all times. The Good, Bad and Ugly! Especially when the ugly is due to our public witness of Who and whose we are in Jesus.

Lord help us persevere and be a blessing for others to glorify Your name.

May all we seek be found in Christ