Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

• James 1:2-4

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

• James 1:12

“Tears are the truest connection we have with others, and trust is the truest connection we have with God. …
“And doesn’t it all come down to that? Trust. Trading our will for ‘Thy will,’ because we know He will.
“Understanding how to consider it all pure joy rises and falls on whether we truly trust God in the middle of what our human minds can’t see as good at all. It’s hard. So I like to think of it in terms of baking. imagine today if we decided to make a cake. Not like ‘I went to the store and bought one from their bakery to stick on my cake plate and just smiled when people commented on my masterpiece.’ Not that.
“Instead, one where we bought all the right ingredients from the store and used them for a from—scratch recipe. After going to the store, we set out all the ingredients: the flour, the butter, the sugar, the vanilla, the eggs, the baking powder, and a pinch of salt. But then maybe we felt too tired to mix it all together and make the cake. Instead we thought we could just enjoy the cake one ingredient at a time. The thing is that sometimes we don’t like some of the individual ingredients, so we’d rather leave them out.
“The flour is too dry—leave it out.
“The sugar, butter, and vanilla are all good—leave them in!
“The eggs are just gross when raw—definitely leave those out!
“And then our cake would never be made mature and complete, not lacking anything. We are so quick to judge the quality of our lives and the reality of God based on individual events rather than the eventual good God is putting together.”

• Lysa TerKeurst, It’s Not Supposed to be this Way

Lysa TerKeurst uses a good example, but I found it hard to follow.  If you find problems with all the ingredients, your resultant cake has nothing it in.  It is not “not lacking anything.”  It is lacking everything, but my brain is not firing on all cylinders, so maybe I am just confused.

I do like the analogy though.  If we reject the tough times in our life, we lose out on the benefits God intended with that tough time.  I have heard people say that “this part of my life does not define me.”  But is that really true?  We are defined as a follower of Jesus Christ.  People should see Jesus within us.  It does not matter what our career field was (as long as it is legal and above reproach) or our family status, the money in the bank account, etc.  We are either followers of Christ or we are not.  If we are, we will be judged based on our good works.

But the process of sanctification usually has a bit of suffering, pain, or at least uncomfortable moments.  We can cry “It’s not supposed to be this way,” but in a way it is supposed to be that way, especially if we are seeking our will instead of God’s will.

But really, I have baked flourless cakes before.  They do not rise very much, but one that I am thinking of – that was the point, a thin layer with tons of cream on top that you rolled into a log.  But that last time I was getting ready to bake that particular cake, my wife asked about another ingredient.  She asked, “Why is this out on the counter and you did not use it in the cake?”  I freaked out!  I had skipped a crucial ingredient.

In thinking of my past, if I had skipped a step because it was too hard, does that mean that I am losing out on being more like Jesus in the end?

Life is full of disappointments, detours along the way, and downright suffering.  Learning what God wants me to learn is a lot better than tapping out and letting someone else learn that lesson.

This completes the basic part of the book, but there is an appendix that I would like to share next week. I have no idea with what to follow this miniseries.

Lord, guide me. Help me to see the Joy in the suffering.  Help me to see the end game.  But failing that, let me keep my eyes on You and trust Your plan.  In Your name I pray.  Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.