I was reading in Luke a while back and this phrase struck me.
“Behold this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” Luke 2:34-35
I read this and thought ‘how powerful is it that through struggle, salvation is going to come. Mary’s struggle as a mother and Christ’s struggle on the cross and in His ministry was directly going to reveal where the hearts of many truly stood. I thought about this for a while and I am still processing what exactly this implies for the reality of suffering in a believer. Mary suffered great grief and we will never fully comprehend the loss that she must have felt. Similar to the way that you and I will never even get a glimpse of the suffering that Jesus partook in for us. But it is in her grief and in His suffering that the thoughts from many hearts came to be revealed.
In the footnotes for this scripture in the ESV Bible, it says that the ‘fall’ refers to the judgment of the haughty and arrogant and the ‘rising’ refers to the salvation of the humble and meek.
Whoa! It seriously outlines that it is going result ultimately in life… Or it will result in death.
Then the more I thought about it; the more I realized that God does this all the time. A perfect example is the way that He allowed Paul to advance the gospel through his time in prison, or how the Lord allowed Paul to carry a thorn after pleading with Him to take it away. And what about each disciple that died for the gospel? Is their suffering for nothing? Of-course not! The testimony and struggle of disciples that came before us teaches us, encourages us, and leads us in salvation. How amazing is that? God used their suffering to allow salvation to come!
It’s kind of ironic for me to have noticed this however many weeks ago, because for years I have been in the middle of a struggle and have just this year started particularly praying that God will not allow it to be wasted, but instead will allow salvation, somehow, to come from my struggle and lead others to Him through my testimony and my brokenness. I believe that this is possible. I believe that God can use my struggle and turn it into a testimony that ultimately helps someone grasp the saving grace of Christ. It is possible. I know it is. Every testimony of struggle can be used to bring life and understanding that leads to salvation.
So what do we do in the midst of struggle?
What can we do to not waste the time that we are given?
PRAY.
Pray desperately that God will allow the struggle that you deal with daily to impact someone to understanding the Gospel. Pray without ceasing that God will allow the fruit that which comes from your struggle to open the eyes of someone that is dead inside and doesn’t know that they are in dire need of Christ.
Whether your struggle is depression, grief, cancer, slavery to sin; God can use it all!
“And shall we who are Christians not be able to face the difficulties that we meet in prayer? It is as we ‘labor’ and ‘strive’ in prayer that the renewed will asserts its royal right to claim in the name of Christ what it will, and wields its God-given power to influence the destinies of men. Shall men of the world sacrifice ease and pleasure in their pursuits, and shall we be such cowards and sluggards as not to fight our way through to the place where we can find liberty for the captive and salvation for the perishing?” (The Ministry of Intercession-Andrew Murray)
The Lord tells us in John 15:7 that if we abide in Him, we can ask whatever we wish and it will be done for you. It is so important, I believe, that we pray in Jesus name, for the hearts of many to be revealed through struggle. That might mean that some fall away or it might mean that some come to the understanding of salvation but what matters most is that His glory is revealed in both! The story of redemption is told in both! God will take care of the rest. We must trust the vinedresser as he bears fruit in us, and prunes those that do not flourish. We must trust that in Jesus name, nothing is wasted! We must trust that salvation will come through struggle!
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” John 15:1-8
Be blessed! And pray fervently that the thoughts and hearts of many will be revealed through struggle.
