Anchors in-the-storm

ANCHORS INTHE STORMby Joe Stowell

DDuring his years ofpastoring, radio

broadcasting, and the presidency of Moody Bible Institute, Joe Stowell has helped many hurting people find strength for thejourney of life.

With a reassuring realism that is rooted in the timelesscounsel of the Word of God, Joe proclaims a message of hope and faith that can be oursas we travel the wonderful yetdifficult road of life.

This is the kind ofencouragement you will find in the following pages excerptedfrom The Upside Of Down byDiscovery House Publishers.

Martin R. De Haan II

CONTENTS

Truths That Hold Us Steady. . . . . . . . 2

Commonality . . . . . . . . . 3

Bearability . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Supernatural Options . . . 7

God’s Power . . . . . . . . . . 9

God’s Divine Support . . 15

A Process With A Purpose . . . . . . . . . . 15

The Purpose Of Bringing About What Is Good . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Go With What You Know. . . . . . . . . . . 24

Pain Is A Process. . . . . . 26

Pain Is A Process With A Purpose . . . . . . 29

Managing Editor: David Sper Cover Photo:Terry BidgoodUnless otherwise indicated, Scripture is taken from the New International Version®. NIV®.Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission ofZondervan. All rights reserved.This booklet is based on a portion of The Upside Of Down by Joseph M. Stowell, published byDiscovery House Publishers, a member of the RBC Ministries family.© 2007 RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, Michigan Printed in USA

HP073 Anchors pp.qxp 7/23/07 12:01 PM

TRUTHS THATHOLD US STEADY

PPilots flying in a stormor in darkness quickly

become disoriented anddeceived by their senses.Pilots say that when theyare flying without visibility,they can be flying in a tightcircle while their sensesassure them that they areflying straight ahead. Whena pilot becomes disorientedin this way, his body istelling him one thing and his instruments are tellinghim something completelydifferent. To keep flyingsafely, he must rely on the instruments in his plane. Those instrumentswill tell him what is actuallyand absolutely true.

What we know to be true when we’re in trouble is the instrument panel thatprovides certainty regardlessof how we feel. People whoare hurting have often toldme, “I know what’s true

from the neck up, butsomehow it doesn’t makesense in my heart.” Weassume that if it only makessense in our heads, it’s nothelpful. But it is.

Part of the process ofworking through pain islearning to hang on to whatwe have from the neck up.When our hearts are brokenand hurt, there won’t seemto be a pipeline from thebrain to the emotions. That’sokay. Just don’t let go ofwhat you know. That’s thekey to making it in the midstof difficulty. That’s exactlywhen God’s Word says,“Consider it pure joy . . .because you know that . . .”(Jas. 1:2-3).

What can we know in the midst of trials? What arethe reliable instruments thattrack us successfully in themidst of difficulty?

In James 1:3-4, thestabilizing truth is that wecan know that “the testing of [our] faith produces

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© 2007 RBC Ministries

endurance” and that weshould “let endurance haveits perfect result, so that[we] may be perfect andcomplete, lacking innothing” (NASB). James issaying that we can knowthat pain is a process with a purpose. That specificpiece of knowledge willenable us to implement the joy response.

There are at least sixmental anchors in Scripturethat give stability in themidst of trouble.

COMMONALITYThree of those “knowable” truths are found in 1 Corinthians10:13. The first portion ofthat verse reads, “Notemptation has seized youexcept what is common toman.” Unfortunately, wetend to think of the wordtemptation only in regard tosin. Although that is a partof its meaning, limiting theterm to sin greatly reduces

the scope of the verse. It’sinteresting to note that theword temptation is from thesame word group we find inJames 1:2 (italics added):“Consider it pure joy, mybrothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.”Actually 1 Corinthians 10:13could read, “No trouble hasseized you except what iscommon to man.”

This portion of verse 13provides the first principlewe need to rely on in theface of problems. It’s theprinciple of commonality.You can be absolutely surethat you are not the only onewho has gone through thiskind of problem. You haven’tbeen singled out by God tobe the one individual in thehistory of the human raceselected to experience asituation like this. Therewere others before you, andthere will be others after you.

It’s been said that misery loves company.What is true is that misery

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needs company to keep us from terrible aloneness,to enable us to find otherswho have struggled againstthe same dragons, and toprepare us to help otherswho are yet to beambushed.

In the American church,we have privileges that fewother believers around theworld have. One of them is good Christian literature.Most Christian bookstorestoday have quality materialavailable about people who have walked throughdark times—biographies ofsuffering heroes, and specifictitles on sudden tragedy,abuse, broken homes,disappointments, and avariety of other problems.

If you are sufferingthrough a trial, you shouldbe able to find someone whohas been there before, whohas struggled and come toknow grace, growth, andglory. Networking with othersas a point of support and

insight can be very helpful.Look for heroes who havemade it through with theirhands held high in victory.What you’re suffering iscommon to others.

And as God, by His grace and in His time,begins to put the pieces ofyour growth and His glorytogether, you can fulfill thetruth of commonality bybecoming a support tosomeone else who is lookingand listening for that “Can Ihelp? I’ve been there too!”

A tremendous frustrationfor me as a pastor was tostand with people who wereexperiencing terrible pain. I learned early on that I should not say, “Iunderstand.” Because Ididn’t understand. I hadnever been there myself.

But then some specialperson who had been therebefore would walk up andput his arm around thissuffering soldier and say, “I understand. Let’s talk.”

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BEARABILITYThe second reality is thetruth of bearability. FirstCorinthians 10:13 goes on tosay, “And God is faithful; Hewill not let you be temptedbeyond what you can bear.”That statement guaranteesthat God never gives usanything more than what wecan bear. It’s like the countryroad that has a sign postedbefore a bridge, “Load Limit5 Tons.” God, who knowsour “load limit,” limits theload He permits us to carry.

One of the states inwhich we lived had a bottlereturn policy. Each emptypop bottle was worth 10cents. Neither Martie nor I especially liked to take thebottles back. This meantthat they accumulated in our garage, leaving averitable savings account in pop bottles. One eveningwhen the stacks of bottleshad gotten intolerably high,I decided to take them back.Our then preschooler son,

Matthew, followed me intothe garage and nobly said,“Daddy, let me help!” (Whyis it that when children aretoo young to help they wantto help you, and when theyfinally get old enough to be constructive, they aren’tinterested?) “Sure, Matt,”was my reply. This preciouslittle boy took two cartons ofbottles and struggled to getthem into the car.

Off we went to thegrocery store. I got a cartand piled the bottles in, put some under my arms,and started to the store.Matt had his two cartons.Halfway across the parkinglot he set his down, lookedat me, and exhaustedly said, “Daddy, I can’t do it. They’re too heavy.” I replied, “Listen, Matthew.You started the project. Youwanted to help. Now buckup and do it right. Pickthose bottles up. I’ll count to five.”

Do you think I said that?5



Not a chance! As hisfather, I understood hislimits. I picked up Matt’scartons and put them intothe grocery cart. Now if I, as an earthly, fallen fatherwould do that for my child,how much more will myFather in heaven, whointimately knows me, bewilling to never permitanything more than what I can bear. You can knowthat. If He permits trouble to come into your life, it’sbearable.

It’s not that our trouble doesn’t often seem unbearable. It oftendoes. It’s that we can knowthat if God has permitted it,in His intimate knowledge of who we are (and Heknows us better than weknow ourselves), we can beassured that it is indeed notbeyond our capacity to bear.

In this guarantee is thepromise that though we maybecome bent, we will neverbe broken. Our lives only

become brittle and fatallybroken when, by poorresponses, we permitbitterness to add extraweight to the load of ourstruggle.

There’s a particularlystrategic side to thisprinciple that we dare notmiss. All of us have had thefeeling at times that Godreally hasn’t done anythingfor us in a long, long time.We see Him at work forothers, yet much of our lifeseems strangely lacking interms of the supernatural.We tend to sour and thinkthat though God may be atwork somewhere, “He’s notat work in my life!”

Actually, if God didnothing more than redeemme, He’s already done farmore than I deserve. That’sreason enough to give Himpraise and glory for the restof my life. Yet beyond that,He’s active every day in my life as He stands as the sentinel at the gate of

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my existence, weighing,measuring, and excludingeverything that exceeds myload limit. Those are thethings I know nothing about.Periodically, as I fall asleep,I like to thank God for thethings He did for me todaythat I am unaware of. Whenthere is nothing on yourthanksgiving list, thank Himthat He has guaranteed thatyour struggles are bearableand that He has kept fromyou things that would havebeen crushing blows.

SUPERNATURALOPTIONSThe third reality we canknow for sure is that Godhas supernatural optionsavailable for delivering usfrom trouble. The closingportion of 1 Corinthians10:13 says, “But when youare tempted, He will alsoprovide a way out so thatyou can stand up under it.”I love 2 Peter 2:9, whichsays, “The Lord knows how

to rescue godly men fromtrials.” It guarantees thatwhen I get into trouble,though I may feel as thoughI am trapped in a room withfour walls closing in on meand no windows or doors forescape, God already knowshow He is going to deliverme. He is in the business ofmaking ways of escape.

When David was beinghunted by Saul, he foundhimself in a cold cave cryingout to God, “How long, OLord? Will You forget meforever? How long will Youhide Your face from me?How long shall I takecounsel in my soul, havingsorrow in my heart all theday? How long will myenemy be exalted over me?”(Ps. 13:1-2 NASB).

Like David, when we feelthat God has forgotten us,we are prone to plan ourown escape. We say, “Iknow what I’ll do. I’ll—no,that won’t work. Here’s whatI’ll do—no, I don’t think that

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will work either.” It’s the totaldespair of seeming to belocked in with no way out.

The children of Israel,finally delivered from Egyptthrough God’s performanceof phenomenal miracles,stood with their backs to theRed Sea watching the dustof the approaching Egyptianhost on the horizon. Theirresponse? “God has optionswe never dreamed of inEgypt. Remember those 10plagues? We never dreamedGod would deliver us likethat. Can you imagine whatHe’s going to do now? Thisis going to be spectacular.”

Unfortunately they said,“It would have been betterfor us to serve the Egyptiansthan to die in the desert!”(Ex. 14:12).

Yet God had a plan todeliver them that they neverwould have dreamed of.God said to Moses, “Whyare you crying out to Me?Tell the Israelites to moveon. Raise your staff and

stretch out your hand overthe sea to divide the waterso that the Israelites can go through the sea on dryground” (vv.15-16). Weknow the rest of the story.The sea parted and theIsraelites walked across. The Egyptian army followed,God closed the sea, andthey sank like stones. God’s people were free. The trouble was past. Godknows how to deliver therighteous from trouble.

I recall counseling awoman who had just cometo know Christ. She wasinterested in becoming God’s kind of woman, so we were studying passagesof Scripture that had to dowith what a biblical wife islike and talking about the whole matter of graciouscooperation with herhusband’s leadership. Shecame to me one day andsaid, “Pastor, I’ve got amajor problem. I have beensaving up my money for a

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dining room set. I love the one my mother-in-lawhas and am looking forsomething just like it. AfterI’ve gone through the usedfurniture ads in the paper,my husband and I drivearound and look at them.But he doesn’t seem to bereal interested. He’s soinsensitive. We’ve been to a couple of places where I really liked the furniture,but he just says, ‘No, I don’t like those.’ ”

I encouraged her to bepatient and wait for the Lordto work in His way. The nextweek she came back andsaid it was worse. She said,“The worst thing about it isthat it’s my money and hecouldn’t care less what kindof furniture we have in thehouse. He doesn’t know ifwe have French Provincialor Early Salvation Army.He’s basically interested inhis newspaper, easy chair,and the TV.”

A couple of weeks later

she came back and said,“You’re not going to believethis, but my mother-in-lawcalled me and said that shehad bought a brand-newdining room set and wantedto know if I wanted hers.”

God does not alwayswork exactly like that. But it’s clear that He has lots of different options ofdeliverance. When we arefaithful and patient throughtrouble, God will, in Histime, exercise options ofdeliverance that are farbeyond what we everdreamed.

GOD’S POWERThe fourth truth we know is that God’s power is at work in our difficulty. I have a friend who has awonderfully engineered car.When we come to a lightand wait for it to change, I feel like telling him, “Startthe car.” It sits there with novibration or noise from theengine. If I had that car, I’d

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probably break 10 dozenstarters thinking it had gonedead. If it weren’t for thetachometer sitting at idlingRPMs, you’d think thepower was gone.

Much of the time, we don’t notice that God’s power is engineering ourtrouble toward resolution.Sometimes we see very littleevidence of His work. YetHis power is busy at work inat least three dimensions.

God’s Power ToBring Good Out OfBad. Dimension numberone is the claim of Romans8:28, where we are assuredof God’s power to bring thatwhich is bad to that which is good. It’s His phenomenalability to take the worstpossible circumstances and transform them andultimately bring good out of that which is terrible.

If you ever get reallydisappointed or discouraged,read the story of Joseph inGenesis 37–50. Betrayed by

the people closest to him,his own family, he was soldinto Egypt as a slave. Risingto a place of influence inPotiphar’s house, Josephdaily faced Potiphar’s wife’sefforts to seduce him.

The Egyptians pridedthemselves on havingbeautiful, sensual wives.Potiphar, being one of theleading bureaucrats in theland, no doubt had a wifewho was rather spectacular.He was off on businessmuch of the time, so shewas probably lonely. Joseph,who was young and strong,was running the householdevery day. One day shegrabs him, and he runs.God looks down on Josephand says, “Joseph, nicegoing. You’re My kind ofman!” But he gets 3 years in the slammer. For 3 yearsnobody remembers him. (In those years God mayhave been extracting thearrogance from his life.)Then, in His time, God

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delivers Joseph and elevateshim to the second highestposition in the empire.

There was a famine inthe land and his treacherousbrothers came to him forfood. Now their lives were inhis hands. In time, Joseph’sfather, who had moved toEgypt, dies, and the brotherswere fearful that Joseph wasgoing to kill them in revenge(Gen. 50:15). They camecowering before Joseph, onlyto hear him say, “Don’t beafraid. Am I in the place ofGod? You intended to harmme, but God intended it forgood to accomplish what isnow being done, the savingof many lives” (vv.19-20).God had used His power toturn the very worst momentsof Joseph’s life into thatwhich was good.

This capacity of God tobring good out of evil wasdemonstrated in the cross.Was there ever a moment inthe history of humanity thatwas so brutal, unfair, and

personally agonizing thanthe moment when the Son ofGod was hung as a criminal?All of hell rejoiced for 3 days.Satan had won the day. He had exterminated theconquering Son. Then God turned that which was incredibly bad into thatwhich was wonderfully good.Redemption from sin. Hellcanceled and heaven gained.

Unfortunately, unwillingto wait patiently, we oftenget in the way by attemptingto take the project into ourown hands. And while Godis trying to do His goodwork, we’re down heremessing up His project withvengeance, bitterness, andother counterproductiveresponses. We need to walk in Christ’s footsteps,who “ ‘committed no sin,and no deceit was found in His mouth.’ When theyhurled their insults at Him,He did not retaliate; whenHe suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He

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entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly” (1 Pet. 2:22-23).

God’s Power To Deal With OurEnemies. The secondkind of power at work in the midst of trouble is God’s power to deal with our enemies. Joseph said to his brothers, “Am I in theplace of God?” (Gen. 50:19).That’s a very importantquestion. Romans 12:17instructs, “Do not repayanyone evil for evil. Becareful to do what is right inthe eyes of everybody.” Thewonderful truth of this wasdemonstrated when Josephadmitted he had no businessgetting back at his brothers,because God is the one who carries out justice. We experience emotionalliberation from our enemieswhen we say, “God, they are Your business. You dealwith them.” We are thenreleased to be like God andlove our enemies in return.

Romans 12:19-21 reads:Do not take revenge, myfriends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it iswritten: “It is Mine toavenge; I will repay,” saysthe Lord. On the contrary:“If your enemy is hungry,feed him; if he is thirsty,give him something todrink. In doing this, youwill heap burning coals on his head.” Do not beovercome by evil, butovercome evil with good.It’s liberating to know

that God will deal with those who cause trouble inmy life. That releases me tolove them. Jesus said:

You have heard that itwas said, “Love yourneighbor and hate yourenemy.” But I tell you:Love your enemies and pray for those whopersecute you, that youmay be sons of yourFather in heaven. Hecauses His sun to rise on the evil and the

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good, and sends rain on the righteous and theunrighteous. If you lovethose who love you, whatreward will you get? Arenot even the tax collectorsdoing that? And if yougreet only your brothers,what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?Be perfect, therefore, asyour heavenly Father isperfect (Mt. 5:43-48). Again, our problem

is that we get in the way. God has not equipped us or given us the capacity todeal justice and vengeanceto our enemies. That’s why it always gets messed upwhen we try. He is the onlyone who has that right andthe power and wisdom to do it well.

I’ll never forget an older woman who came to my office and heatedlydumped on me a long list of objections about herhusband. I asked how

long she had been married.It had been more than 40years. I have never in mylife, nor would I ever,counsel anyone to break up a home. But as she went on and on about howmiserable he was, I finallysaid, “Why have you livedwith him so long if he’s sobad? Did you ever thinkabout just checking out? I’mnot advising it, but I’d liketo know what you think.”She said, “Oh, no! I’d neverwalk out of this marriage.”

I thought that was anhonorable attitude until shecontinued. It was evidentthat she hated him so muchthat walking out of themarriage would have meantthat she couldn’t tormenthim anymore. For her, thatwas a reason for staying.Why would she want to giveup the opportunity to shredher enemy at every turn?

God has called us to abetter way. In the midst oftrouble, we can count on the

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power of God to deal withthose who are against us.And we are then free to belike our Father in heaven—free to bless those who curseus, to pray for those whospitefully use us, and to loveour enemies, because thepower of God will ultimatelydeal justly with them.

God’s Power To Hold On To Us.The third kind of power we can count on is found in 2 Corinthians 4:7-9: “We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is fromGod and not from us. Weare hard pressed on everyside, but not crushed;perplexed, but not indespair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struckdown, but not destroyed.”

I love knowing that Godvalues the preciousness ofmy being. Though I may go to the edge, in Hiswonderful, sovereign powerHe will always keep me

sane and safe as I respondproperly to Him and tothe trial.

The psalmist often saysthat God holds us with Hisright hand. The “right handof God” is an Old Testamentmetaphor for strength. Thinkabout holding a child’s handwhile you are walking. Idon’t know what it is, butsomehow a child can bewalking along beside you,and all of a sudden her legsjust fly out from under her—for no reason at all. Buteven though she’s offbalance and in danger offalling, your power keeps her from “destruction.”

What a wonderfulpicture! God holds me withHis powerful right hand as I walk the sidewalk of life. If I trip and both feet go out from under me, it’s okaybecause He’s holding me.We can count on His powerto ultimately and finallyprotect us and keep us fromcomplete destruction.

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GOD’S DIVINESUPPORTThe fifth truth we can affirm in difficult times is the reality of God’s divinesupport. In 2 Corinthians12:7-9, Paul tells of hisstruggles with a thorn in the flesh. He prayed three times to be relievedfrom it, but to no avail. So he submitted to thelifelong affliction and, with a positive spirit, resolved tolet God’s strength be madestrong in his weakness,discovering that God’s gracewas sufficient to supporthim through the trial.

In my many years in thepastorate, I have stood bypeople who have enduredphenomenal suffering andtrouble. And I have to tellyou, a lot of times I walkaway and say, “I can’tbelieve how well they’redoing.” I think if that wereme, I would be a basketcase. Then I hear Paul’sconfidence ringing in my

heart, “God’s grace is sufficient.” Like theeverlasting arms, God’sgrace comes under us and wraps around us. Itovertakes us, and we aresupported.

His grace is Hisunmerited help to us. Introuble, it will be there. How much? Is there aproblem that is bigger thanthe reservoir of God’s grace? The answer is no. That’swhy Paul said, “[God’s]grace is sufficient” (12:9).

A PROCESS WITH A PURPOSEThe sixth principle we cancount on during times ofdifficulty is that God usestrouble as a process with apurpose in our lives. Godnever wastes our sorrows.Any pain He permits is to be used by Him as a process with a purpose.

There are two biblicalpurposes: our growth, whichis what James 1:2-4 speaks

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of, and God’s glory (Jn. 9:3). Trouble attracts the

attention of people aroundus. Hebrews 10:33 says, “Partly by being made apublic spectacle throughreproaches and tribulations,and partly by becomingsharers with those who were so treated” (NASB). OneChristmas somebody gaveone of our children a plasticfireman’s hat. It was one of those gifts you wish theyhadn’t given. It had a redplastic flashing light on topof it and a battery-operatedsiren. Our kids ran all overthe house with this siren andlight going. You couldn’t helpbut notice their presence.

It’s like that with trouble. As soon as troublehits our lives, the lights start flashing and everybodystarts watching us. That’swhy it’s such a wonderfulopportunity to process the trial in the biblicalmanner so that as a “publicspectacle” in trouble, with

the world watching, we can demonstrate thepresence and power of God in our lives. Troublebecomes a platform forGod’s opportunity to glorifyHimself and show Himselfstrong.

I had the opportunity to listen and watch as JoniEareckson Tada told of her deep love for God and her joy in Christ. She was paralyzed from theshoulders down, but herface beamed as she sat in her wheelchair. It was clear that God was real,satisfying, fulfilling, andenabling in the midst of her lifelong trial. It was acredible statement to thereality and power of Godand His grace. Whereasremorse, self-pity, andbitterness are the productsof nonbiblical responses tosuffering, the evidence in her life of God’s power and presence revealedthrough her pain was an

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unimpeachable statement ofthe grace and glory of God.

Suffering is a platform for the display of God’spower. Sometimes thatpower is displayed by Hismiraculous deliverance, andsometimes it is displayed bythe grace He gives to us topositively endure as wereflect forgiveness and peace during an ongoing,sometimes lifelong, problem.

When trials put us onpublic display, it’s ourprivilege, through biblicalresponses, to turn the tableson Satan’s attempt to defaceGod’s glory. Our troublesallow us to demonstrateclearly God’s worthiness to be worshiped, regardless;to give Him our willingallegiance, regardless; and to demonstrate the reality of His presence, power, andpeace in the midst of pain.

Not only is pain aprocess with the purpose ofdemonstrating God’s glory,but it’s also a process that

focuses on the purpose of enabling our growth in character and incompetency for living. James1:2-4 states that we shouldcount it all joy, knowing thatthe process will contribute to a life that is becoming“mature and complete, notlacking anything.”

How does that happen?The text goes on to speak of the four-step process that leads to our growth: the testing of our faith, thetesting of our endurance, thetesting of our yieldedness,and our reliance on prayer.

The Testing Of OurFaith. This comes whentrouble challenges our faithand calls it to the witnessstand. What is faith? Faith isour unflinching reliance onGod. I’m glad that God isnot a slippery commoditythat slides out of our handsor a moving target we cannottrust. God doesn’t play hideand seek with us. He hasrevealed His promises, His

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ways, and His character tous. They are reliable, solid,and clearly true. They do not change. These are thehandles that we cling to introuble.

When trouble comes,by faith I cling to Hispromises:

Never will I leave you;never will I forsake you(Heb. 13:5). And we know that in allthings God works for thegood of those who loveHim, who have beencalled according to Hispurpose (Rom. 8:28). Perseverance must finishits work so that you maybe mature and complete,not lacking anything(Jas. 1:4). Even when there’s

no light at the end of thetunnel, when you are in adeepening darkness andyour heart is broken, thesepromises are true and willprovide your source ofstability.

When trouble comes,by faith I cling to Hisways. At such times wepray, “Heavenly Father, Iknow what You’ve done inthe past and how You haveresponded in real lives inScripture. Since that’s thekind of God You are, I’llhang on to You through this.I will not become bitter ormanipulative. I will simplypermit You to do Your workin Your time,” and by faithwe hang on to that.

When trouble comes,by faith I cling to Hischaracter. First Corinthians10:13 says, “God is faithful.”By faith we hang on to thefact that God will be faithful.He’s not going to show up atthe end of your trouble andsay, “I’m really sorry, butI’ve had a busy 3 weeks. I just couldn’t quite getaround to your situation.”His character is firm andreliable, fully worthy of ourconfidence. God is loving,just (which helps in terms

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of our enemies), righteous,gracious, and merciful.

When troubles come, our faith is tested. It’s called to the witness stand to demonstrate whether ornot we will believe and non-negotiably apply His promises, ways, andcharacter to every situationof life. When we give in tolesser responses, it reflectsthe weakness of our faith.

The Testing Of OurEndurance. This comesabout when we apply the“faith response” to oursituation. If we clingtenaciously to God, wewon’t give up or give in.Interestingly, the Englishword endurance is made upof two Greek words: hupoand meno. Hupo means“under”; meno means “toremain.” Endurance is thecapacity to remain under the stress until God’s work is done.

Our family loves to eatwatermelon. Our children

realized early on that if youput your thumb on a wetwatermelon seed and applya little pressure, it will spurtout and go flying across thetable. It’s especially fun ifyou can score a bull’s-eyeon your sister.

A lot of us respond totrouble in the same way. Lifebegins pressing on us, andwhat is our response? “Getme out of here! Lord, solvethis problem. Immediately.”But when God says no,instead of trying to wiggleout, by faith we claim Godand hang in there as faithproduces endurance. Stayingunder the pressure with agood spirit is an importantpart of the divine process as He works toward Hisproductive end in our lives.

In times of trouble, ithelps to list specific relevanttruths about God and match them with the supportingpassages. Memorizing and praying through thosesections of Scripture will

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anchor them in your heart and mind. A pledge to wait for God to fulfillthose truths in your lifewhile you unflinchingly obey and trust Him is theessence of endurance.

Look with anticipation for grace, growth, and glory,and rejoice in any signalthat the process is workingin your life. Regularly checkyour commitment. Have youstarted trusting in yourselfand your own ways? Haveyou become manipulative,resentful, bitter, cutting,unforgiving? Or are you byfaith clinging to God andresponding in a biblicalway?

The Testing Of Our Yieldedness. Afterexercising unflinching andpersisting faith in Him, thethird dynamic is to yield to the process. “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your

faith produces endurance.And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking innothing” (Jas. 1:2-4 NASB).

“And let endurance have its perfect result” is the command in the text. It’s like surgery. When thesurgeon comes in and tellsus we need an operation, we say, “Okay, I’ll endurethe process and take thepain.” We have confidencein the doctor and believethat it’s ultimately for ourgood. Imagine the followingsituation: We are wheeledinto the operating room andthe staff begins to prepare us for the surgery. When thesurgeon walks in, we watchas he walks past the trays of razor-sharp scalpels. Thenurse puts his gloves on himand then rolls the tray withthe scalpels on it toward theoperating table. At that pointwe mutter under our breath,“No way,” and leap off the

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table. The doctor grabs ascalpel and tries to operateas he chases us around theoperating room.

Obviously that wouldnever happen. Yet many of us give God that kind of trouble when He seeks to produce growth in usthrough a trial in our lives. That’s why James 1:4requires that we yield to theprocess. We must resist theinitial impulse to jump offthe table. We need, instead,to place unwavering faith in the divine surgeon and endure, knowing thatultimately it will culminatein a way that we can claimjoy and praise for theprocess.

Our Reliance OnPrayer. Last, James tells us to pray. Verse 5 says, “Ifany of you lacks wisdom, heshould ask God.” There willbe plenty of times when wedon’t know what to do orhow to respond. We need to go to the Father and seek

wisdom from Him. But ifwe’re so distressed that wecan’t pray or don’t knowhow to pray, Romans 8:26assures us that the HolySpirit takes the groanings we can’t even utter andbrings them before theFather, untangles all theirconfusion, and lays thembefore Him on our behalf in accord with His will.

Prayer in the midst oftrouble helps us see Godagain. It gets our eyes offour problems and focuses us afresh on God, who is all-powerful, merciful, and just.

Prayer reveals thingsabout myself. When I prayin the midst of trouble, Imay say, “Lord, you knowthis mess with Bob andSally. Well, they . . . ” Often the Lord interruptsand says, “Yes, I knowabout them. But can we talkabout you?” Prayer has away of revealing things inmy own life that need to be faced if I am to become

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“mature and complete, notlacking anything” (Jas. 1:4).I find that God regularlyresponds, “I’ll take care ofthem. Let’s talk about you.”

When I’m in prayer, I’moften reminded of biblicalprinciples that are relevantand true. His Word startscoming back to me and I’mreminded of passages andprinciples I need to apply.This is wisdom from God. Wisdom about Him, wisdom about me, wisdomabout His Word. “If any of you lacks wisdom, heshould ask God” (Jas. 1:5).

There’s never an easyway to go through trouble,but there’s always a rightway—by counting it joybecause of what we know to be true about the process, by exercising faith, by yielding to theprocess, and by praying for wisdom.

Being committed to thefact that difficulties are aprocess with a purpose

requires that our purposesfor life be like His purposesfor us. If our purpose in life is to be comfortable, well liked, happy, and to accumulate enoughmoney to buy the things we want, then we will never find hope in trouble. These are not God’s driving agendas forour existence. Character is more important to Godthan cash, convenience, orcomfort. Our competency is of greater value to Himthan simply going throughlife blissful yet unpreparedand functionally unable to make a contribution to people’s lives and to the cause of eternity.

The measure of howproductive trials have beenin our lives is how muchmore we are like Jesus Christnow than we were when thetrouble began. Pain is aprocess with a divinepurpose, and God neverwastes our sorrows.

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Among all the question marks that invade our hearts and heads in times of trouble,the certainties revolvearound the answers to who and what.

Who? It is God and me.The reliable, trustworthyGod working in me andthrough me with anoutpouring of His grace until my growth and Hisglory are realized.

What? My knowledge of what is clearly true andreliable. Choosing to bypassalternate, unproductive, anddestructive responses, wechoose to reckon our trialultimately to be a thing of joy in His powerful andcreative hand. Choosing not to permit the baggage of our feelings to drive ourresponses, we direct ourreactions by what we knowto be true, counting it all to be a thing of joy as we cling by faith to what is trueabout Him: His promises,

His character, and His ways; yielding to theprocess; praying for wisdomand enduring under thepressure until there ismeasurable growth in bothcharacter and competencyand a reflection of His glory.

The principles of growth and glory are oftendemonstrated in Scripture.The penetrating theme of theNew Testament is that Godwill do what is necessary tobring us to the likeness ofHis Son. His purpose may be to “grow” us to becapable and productive byusing problems to reducethe risks that we bring to the kingdom. Growth maybe fostered by the difficultythat finally forces us to beGod-sufficient rather thanself-sufficient. And His glorythrough us will only becomeevident as we seek to turnevery attack of the adversaryinto a clear testimony ofGod’s worth and work in us and through us.

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THE PURPOSEOF BRINGINGABOUT WHAT IS GOOD

SSurgery. Many of ushave experienced it. It is inconvenient,

painful, unpleasant,frightening, and disruptive.Yet we choose to submit toit. Why? Because the pain isworth the gain. It promisesto produce a good result.

God’s Word assures thebeliever that all pain is aprocess with a purpose. Infact, God guarantees thatthe purpose will have a good outcome.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. For those God foreknew He also predestined to beconformed to the likenessof His Son, that He might be the firstborn

among many brothers (Rom. 8:28-29).The guarantee of Romans

8:28-29 contains three truthsthat fortify us in difficulty.

GO WITH WHATYOU KNOWTrouble brings with it abucketful of emotions:despair, hurt, revenge, self-pity, anger, sorrow, and a dozen other feelings.If we’re not careful, thosefeelings can dominate usand disorient us from whatwe know. Emotions derailour thoughts and detour ourcommitments. How we feeltends to distort what weknow.

Our resource in pain isnot what we feel but whatwe know. When Romans8:28 begins with the words“And we know,” it literallymeans that we have anabsolute knowledge. Ourknowledge in pain is not a “hope so” or “maybe” or “might be”—but a

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“know so” reality. While ouremotions are like quicksand,knowledge is bedrock.

Notice that each majorsection on difficulty inScripture begins with anappeal to what we know.“We also rejoice in oursufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Rom.5:3-4). As we have seen,James 1:2-4 directs us to“consider it pure joy . . .whenever you face trials ofmany kinds, because youknow that the testing of yourfaith develops perseverance.Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” When our emotions jade our perspectives, God’s truth doesn’t change. Truth is truth regardless of how we feel.

God’s truth gives us a unique edge to which

we can cling in trouble.What do we know? We

know that trouble developscharacter (Rom. 5:3-5) andthat trials equip us to bemore useful (Jas. 1:2-5).Because of Romans 8:28, we know that good is theultimate purpose of theprocess of pain. Knowingand clinging to what weknow make the difference.Truth is our stability factorin trouble.

A friend told me aboutthe devastating months of depression that she hadgone through. Nothing hadseemed to help. She saidthat the only thing that kepther from breaking was “thetruth that heaven is real.”That basic bit of knowledgekept her head above theswirling flood of heremotional despair.

Another friend, whosechild had died 2 monthsbefore, told me, “It hurtsmore now than it did then.All we have is the fact that

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God is sovereign andomniscient,” he said as hisvoice broke. That’s prettybasic, but it was enough to get him through.

As God’s people, we have the advantage of truthin pain. It’s a definite edgein trouble. It’s our resource.Cling to it.

PAIN IS A PROCESS Romans 8:28 goes on toremind us that pain is aprocess toward an ultimategood. Foundational to theacceptance of pain is theawareness that God has us in process. None of us is what God wants us to be. Though God lovesand accepts us the way we are, He sees all that we can become. Pleasure has a way of making us satisfiedwith ourselves. Pain catchesour attention so that Godcan develop us into Hisdream for our lives.

That process is defined in several dimensions:

It’s An All-Encompassing Process. Since God works “in all things,” we are guaranteed thatwhatever He permits—whether pain or pleasure,bane or blessing—He is ableto use it all to transform us.

Beautiful automobiles are especially alluring. Theybecome beautiful and usefulthrough a process. Theprocess involves a designconcept that is reachedthrough bending, banging,shaping, heating, riveting,fusing, and tightening. It’s a slow process as theassembly line moves at analmost imperceptible speed,but it’s a specific processwith a desirable goal.Hundreds of componentparts make up the whole.Some are unsightly andadded under great pressure,whereas others beautify; yeteach is essential to theprocess.

The truth that pain is 26



a part of God’s process is seen in the context (Rom. 8:18,23,26). To wishto be transformed by Godwithout pain in the processis to expect a hunk ofshapeless steel to become a beautiful and usefulcommodity without thetrauma of the assembly line.

It’s A ContinuousProcess. In Romans 8:28,the phrase “God works”indicates a present,continuous process. Godwill never abandon Hispurpose for us, nor theprocess to accomplish it.

I have many unfinishedprojects in my basement—things I tore apart to restoreand antiques that I havebegun to refinish. With God,I am never an abandonedproject.

It’s A DivinelySupervised Process.Note that Romans 8:28 says, “God works.” Behindthe scenes of my life story isthe hand of God—moving,

changing, limiting, applyingpressure, providing strength,rearranging. God is the oneworking all things togetherfor good.

Auguste Bartholdi went from France to Egyptin 1856. He was awestruckby the grandeur of thepyramids, the magnitude of the mighty Nile, and thebeauty of the stately Sphinxof the desert. His artisticmind was stimulated. Whileon this trip he met anothervisitor to Egypt, Ferdinandde Lesseps. Ferdinand wasthere to sell an idea to cut a canal from the Red Sea tothe Mediterranean Sea thatwould save merchant shipsthe long journey around thetip of the African continent.Auguste was taken by theconcept. He decided todesign a lighthouse to standat the entrance to this canal.

It wouldn’t be anordinary lighthouse. Itwould symbolize the light ofWestern civilization flowing

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to the East. It took 10 years to build the SuezCanal. And for 10 yearsAuguste worked on his idea.He drew plans, made claymodels, and scrapped planafter plan. Then he had theright one. It was the perfectdesign.

There was only oneproblem. Who would pay for it? He lookedeverywhere, but no one was interested. The SuezCanal was opened—withouta lighthouse. Auguste wentback to France defeated. Ten years of toil and effortwere wasted.

You would have liked hisidea. It was a colossal robedlady that stood taller thanthe Sphinx in the desert. Sheheld the books of justice inone hand and a torch liftedhigh in the other to light theentrance to the canal.

After Auguste returned to France, the Frenchgovernment sought hisartistic services to design

a gift to America. The Statueof Liberty lighting the NewYork harbor demonstratesthat what happens in themidst of disappointmentscan often be a prelude togood things beyond ourimagination.

If, in the normal courseof life, things that seem to be disappointing, difficult,and defeating can beprocessed into somethingmagnificent and significant,how much surer is thisprocess with the hand of our wise and powerful Godguaranteeing the outcome.

We must take caution,however, against slippinginto an irresponsiblefatalism that sees God asboth the source and theprocessor of pain. Withinthe “all things” of Romans8:28 are the reality ofhuman choices andconsequences.

In her book Affliction,Edith Schaeffer tells of achild who fell off a cliff to

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his death and of anotherwho slipped through the iceinto a frozen lake. Did Godpush the child from the cliff? Did God push the boy through the ice? No,these tragedies occurredbecause we live in a fallenplace and are a part of afallen race. It was a choiceto venture too close to theedge of the cliff, a choice not to check the safety of the ice. But it is thepowerful, creative hand of God that takes thesetragic settings of life andworks them all together forgood—regardless.

Life is a lot like a jigsawpuzzle. Often our lives canseem like a thousand piecesspilled onto the table. They seem to be confused,disoriented, senseless, andtragic. But then God comesand carefully, wisely, in Hisway and in His time, putsthe pieces together. In theend, the puzzle is somethingthat makes sense—a good

thing of beauty. That’s what we know.

As Paul affirmed, “Hewho began a good work in you will carry it on tocompletion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6).

PAIN IS A PROCESSWITH A PURPOSEThe third dynamic is thatGod has no process withoutpurpose. The guarantee ofRomans 8:28 states that weknow that God processes in us all things toward good.That’s His purpose. For thebeliever, there’s no painwithout the purpose of agood result.

I stood in the churchfoyer and said to a set ofrelieved parents, “God hascertainly been good to spareyou your son.” The nightbefore, their son had been ina terrible auto accident. Hewas rushed to a hospitalmore than an hour away forspecial treatment. All nighthe hung on to life by a

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thread. He had made it!Standing next to his

parents was another couplewhose daughter had beenkilled in a car wreck a fewyears before. It was thenthat it hit me. Had God notbeen good to them? Whatwas I saying about mydefinition of “good”? Whatmust my comment havemeant to the parents whowere less fortunate?

God defines good for usin Romans 8:29. The textsays that this process is forthose who have been calledaccording to God’s purpose.What is God’s purpose?According to verse 29 it is toconform us to the image ofHis Son—and that is good.

Anything that will bring us to a more accuratereflection of the quality ofChrist in and through ourlives is good. Whatever ittakes, pain or pleasure, isgood if it conforms us to His likeness. That’s God’sgoal in the process of pain.

He takes all that He permitsand makes it a part of theprocess to bring us to reflectthe image of Christ.

When our family was at a conference years ago,Matthew, our youngestchild, fell and broke hiswrist. I have never seenanything like it. His armtook a sharp left at his wristand then turned again toresume its normal journey tohis hand. It was grotesque.

We rushed Matthew to the hospital where thedoctor began to set his wrist. I watched as thedoctor pulled and twistedMatthew’s arm. The doctorbegan to perspire, and I feltlike jumping up and pullingthe doctor off my son. But I simply sat and watched. I knew that Matt’s armneeded to be restored to itsoriginal design and purpose.But pain and several weeksof inconvenience would be a part of the process.

When we are broken and 30



hurt by sin and self-will, ourgood and loving God mustoften reset us too. Set backto His intended purpose, theimage of His Son. Set backto a heart of compassion,righteousness, and love. Setinto the original purpose ofHis glory through us.

God not only has theintention of conforming us into what is good, but Healso has the power tocomplete the project.

I love what the prophetIsaiah said when he wrotethat God would “comfort all who mourn, to consolethose who mourn in Zion, togive them beauty for ashes,the oil of joy for mourning,the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; thatthey may be called trees ofrighteousness, the plantingof the Lord, that He may beglorified” (Isa. 61:2b-3 NKJV).God is able to restore theyears that the locusts haveeaten (Joel 2:25).

Michelangelo carved the

sculpture David out of ahunk of stone. Other artiststake colored oils and canvasand create masterpieces.Beams of steel are bent andwelded to create strange-looking monuments in ourcity squares. But I havenever seen an artist evenattempt to make somethingbeautiful from ashes. OnlyGod can do that (Isa. 61:3).

God is able to bring the love of Christ into ourlives. It may take somebrokenness. It may requirethat we go through a time ofneed to become sensitizedto the needs of others. If itrequires pain to do that,then it is good.

Can we weep with thosewho weep? God may needto stain our cheeks withtears so that we cangenuinely empathize asChrist does.

Are we self-sufficient?The tragedy of our affluentculture is that we rarelysense our need for God,

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when in reality wedesperately do need Him. God may need to strip away some of oursecurity, as painful as that may be, to conform us to the God-sufficiencythat Christ displayed. That would be good.

Are we faithless? It may take the impact of atragedy for us to experiencethe reality of God so that welearn to lean on and trustHim as Christ did. Thatwould be good.

Are we proud, indifferent,carnal, selfish, unforgiving,negative, or angry? God has something better—thelifestyle of His Son.

God is able to effectpositive change in us. He knows what is best. He knows what it takes. He will, as the loving, all-powerful sculptor, chip away until Jesus is seen in the hardened hunk of our lives.

For those of us who

know God, pain is a process with a certainpurpose. We don’t make it through tough times. We are made through tough times—made into the beauty of Christ Jesus.

And that is good.

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hThis booklet is excerpted from The Upside Of Down by Joe Stowell,which is published by DiscoveryHouse Publishers, a member of the RBC Ministries family. Joe served for 18 years as the presidentof Moody Bible Institute. Currentlyhe is Teaching Pastor at Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago. He is alsopartnering with RBC Ministries inradio, writing, and televisionproductions.

If this booklet has been helpful toyou, check out Joe’s ministry onlineat www.getmorestrength.org for hisweekly thought-provoking messagesor his “Daily Strength” devotionals.



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Anchors in-the-storm

Spiritual

Transcript of Anchors in-the-storm