by Sherry Chamblee
I recently had a conversation where someone was asking for stories of people who have overcome great spiritual challenges. She was looking for ways to describe this, a way to connect with those people who have gone through tough things and come out the other side with God’s help.
She got a lot of good recommendations – books on Elizabeth Elliott, Amy Carmichael, George Mueller, Martin Luther… all people who went through tough things and wrote about it later.
Then the person asking for inspiration turned and said those were all great, but she wasn’t a spiritual giant. So how could she relate to these people? How could she learn from them, when they’re so far and away above the average?
But what struck me at that moment was that she didn’t realize that those people I listed were not spiritual giants – certainly not at the time they were going through their various trials and hardships. They weren’t any different than me. They weren’t any stronger than I am.
They were simply given the strength they’d need *when* they needed it. Not before.
I think oftentimes we think we need that strength *before* we go through trials. We sit on the sidelines, waiting for God to endow us with strength from on high so that we feel equipped to do the hard things for Christ. Before we’ll commit to any sort of tough thing God might want us to do, we first want to see the grace, we want to feel the strength, we want proof that God is going to carry us through. And we want it now, before the trial comes. Before the people speak ill of us, before the crowd gets angry, before the financial struggle, before we’ll trust Christ for our next meal or bring the gospel to those people who hate us.
But that’s not how God works.
God gives us that grace and strength *when* we need it. He gives it to us in the midst of the storm, not before the storm hits, but *while* the storm is raging. Jesus didn’t prevent the storm from hitting the boat while they were out on the sea – Jesus stopped the storm in the midst of it, and Jesus got them through the storm.
We aren’t meant to get the strength first. We’re meant to get it only when we will use it right then in that moment.
So instead of waiting, be willing to take that step. Be willing to go out on a limb and risk something for God. Be willing to go to the people who might reject you. Be willing to do something that puts yourself at risk. Be willing to put yourself in a position where you need a miracle, where you need to rely on God’s strength, where you need to see God work.
That’s where God is glorified in us. When we’re at the end of our rope.
But as one of my pastor’s used to say, in order to see God fill your cupboards with groceries, your cupboards first have to be empty.
You might have to experience hunger in order to see God feed you. You might have to experience pain in order to see God comfort you. You might have to experience damage in order to see God heal you.
Be willing to need a miracle, and you’ll see a miracle.
About the Author:
Sherry grew up in various cities around northern and central California. This gave her all sorts of stories that sat and festered in her brain, waiting to be let loose. She eventually went to college in Wisconsin, where she met her equally frenetic husband, Rich. They have six (yes, count them) children, two dogs and a cat, and currently reside in a madhouse in the southern California area. As a family, they enjoy being active in their local church. Sherry spends her time writing when not caring for Granny, the kids, the dogs, the cat and any number of strays in the neighborhood.
Sherry Chamblee can be found at http://www.sherrychamblee.weebly.com Or check out her books at http://www.amazon.com/Sherry-Chamblee/e/B00BA06RJ2/
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