last week i was meeting with mama hopper. we are still slowly getting through the Beth Moore study that we are doing together, Beloved Disciple. We were watching the video (and i do mean old school VHS) and Beth said something that has not left my mind for a week now. you guessed it- the title, 'God puts the man in the condition in order to understand the message'. her example came from Rev. ch. 7 where Jesus is speaking to John about the people who come through great tribulation. He said, "They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat". I realize many of us have heard this verse and it does not seem like such a huge deal, but it had never dawned on me until Beth pointed it out, John was in those exact circumstances that Jesus told him there would be no more of. He was exiled at time, a prisoner- he was hungry, thirsty, and the sun beat down on him daily. Who better to understand that message than the one who was in that exact condition- John. Wow.
This was one of those obvious things that when i heard it, i immediately thought, 'well i know that'. but the quote begs the question... what message is God trying to teach me now? through the change and the stress and whatever else i am dealing with. What is God trying to teach you in the condition that He has put you in? This idea can take ANY horrible situation and turn it to good- if we are not looking at the horrible thing going on and instead looking at what God is trying to teach us about Himself, or how to practice his attributes... what kind of better people would we be in the end of it all? not that whatever is going on isn't going be hard- it will, but at least we get something out of it. I was speaking to someone about this the other day regarding forgiveness. When someone is wronged, everything that is natural within that person tells them to respond in a way that is not acting forgiveness. Either seek revenge, treat the other person poorly, or just walk away. And merely saying 'i forgive you' is not enough either. God has put this man in the condition that he might actually have to act forgiveness in order that he might learn how to forgive. Whoa. Maybe this is not eye-opening to some but it made me see circumstances in a new light. It was just one of those things that stuck b/c i needed to hear it at the time. and maybe i needed to share it too:)
