Would God really say, “I’m tired of blessing her?”

How can you tell a blessing from a disappointment?

I spoke ten days ago about “turning the prism,” and looking at the challenges of our lives through God‘s perspective.

It’s an invaluable lesson, to turn your life over to God and look to see what He might be up to

But what does it actually look like to trust God even when your circumstances are frightening and likely to get worse?

(And why does God take us through these challenges as soon as we try to explain them to someone else?)

For folks who have followed God for a long time, it helps to remember how God has met your needs in the past.

Why would He suddenly decide that today, March 28, 2011, is the day he stops blessing Michelle? Would He really say, “that’s it. It’s misery for her from here on in?”

No, God uses everything in our lives to His glory and towards His aims.

If you can’t think of events in your own life, sometimes it helps to reflect on how God worked in someone else’s. And no one has a better story than the late Corrie ten Boom.

Corrie and the Blessing of Fleas

In Corrie ten Boom’s book The Hiding Place, she tells us of the horrors of Ravensbruck

Concentration Camp during World War II.

Fleas and lice swarmed the barracks where she and her frail sister Betsie lived. It was as disgusting as you can imagine. Corrie in particular, chafed and complained about the fleas.

The two women smuggled a Bible into the camp with them.

In another astonishing story, they traded it back and forth, reading it for strength and leading prayer meetings and Bible studies.

If the guards found their Bible or caught them having prayer meetings, they would executed the women. At first, the women held these meetings very timidly. But as the weeks wore on and no guards came into the bunkroom, they grew bolder. Corrie marveled at this.

Why did no guard come in and find them at their clandestine activities?

Betsie overheard two guards talking. They would not step foot in the bunkroom because of the fleas! After that, the women added their thanks for the fleas to their daily prayers.

God later used the agonies and tribulation the ten Booms endured in Ravensbruck (Betsie died). The trials she went through eventually led Corrie ten Boom to a holiness recognized by many people throughout the world.

Betsie’s example, told by Corrie, also inspired many, many people.

What is the point, though?

Oswald Chambers writes about 1 Peter 1: 16: “Be holy for I am holy,” in My Utmost for His Highest (September 1):

“We must continually remind ourselves of the purpose of life. We are not destined to happiness, nor to health, but to holiness . . .

“God has only one intended destiny for mankind— holiness. His only goal is to produce saints. God is not some eternal blessing-machine for people to use, and He did not come to save us out of pity— He came to save us because He created us to be holy.

“Holiness is not simply what God gives me, but what God has given me that is being exhibited in my life.”

When you look at your life and circumstances through the prism of holiness, the difficulties you encounter may not sting so severely.

Indeed, your attitude may change so much, you can actually embrace the challenges.

I’m not there yet in my own circumstances, but you  may have a story to tell of when God met you in ways you didn’t expect when you dropped your expectation of living happily ever after on your own terms, and accepted His.

Tweetables

Does God ever get tired of blessing us? Click to Tweet

Fleas and recognizing God’s blessings. Click to Tweet

Turning the prism to see God’s point of view. Click to Tweet