Oh, how I wish the prosperity preachers were right. Life would be much more enjoyable if everyone who came to faith in Jesus had a life free of conflict and difficulty.

But they are not right and we have been promised neither happiness nor comfort in this life. In fact, Jesus told his followers that they were sure to have trouble (John 16:33).

One of the benefits of getting older is that we can gain some perspective on how God has used the difficulties to shape us into who we were designed to be. If nothing else, the difficulties show us how little control we have and how dependent we are upon God. None of us is guaranteed so much as our next breath.

But God is not a codependent being who needs to be needed so our struggles must be more than simply a reminder of our need of God.

Paul tells us in the opening verses of Romans 5 that somehow our troubles are used by God to build hope in us.

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have also obtained access through him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we boast in the hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.“

Romans 5:1–5, CSB

Paul tells us that we can boast in our afflictions because they produce endurance, character, and hope.

An analogy of a sculptor comes to me. To accomplish what he envisions, the sculptor needs to chip away the pieces of stone that hide the beauty of his creation. Chip by chip, the features of the work of art are revealed to both the sculptor and the world.

It is not a fast process. It is not an easy process. And only the sculptor knows what will be revealed when the process is complete.

Perhaps this is why Paul told the Ephesians to give “thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20, CSB).

We can be thankful for even the hard things because God is using them to make us into what he designed us to be. The sculptor is chipping away the pieces of us that are contrary to his design.

We can submit to the process and be grateful, or we can shake our fists at the heavens in resentment and cursing. Moment by moment the choice is ours.

It’s a presidential election year in my country so the candidates and the news outlets that support them are ramping up the rhetoric about how bad things are and how much worse they will get if the wrong candidate is put in office.

Just listening to the “news” can cause anxiety. Even as I write this, I am reminded that they intentionally cause anxiety to give the impression that we need to listen to their opinion as to how to fix things.

On top of all this, and at the risk of sounding like an old geezer who looks back to the “good old days,” it seems there is a general sense of decline in stability, both moral and cultural. Some days, I see problems everywhere if I look close enough. This can be overwhelming and discouraging.

But this morning, I read Psalm 104 as part of my Bible reading. While reading it, I was reminded that God is still in control. God set this planet in motion and it will stay in motion until it is time for him to bring history to a close and renew Earth to its original design.

So, my suggestion for myself and anyone who reads this post is to take a deep breath and read Psalm 104 whenever life in the 21st Century seems to be spinning out of control.

“May my meditation be pleasing to him; I will rejoice in the Lord.”

Psalm 104:34, CSB

“. . . behold, now is the day of salvation.”

2 Corinthians 6:2, CSB

The phrase quoted above will likely be familiar to those who have been in church for a while. Normally it is quoted in support of asking members of an audience to come to faith in Jesus Christ. It is an excellent plea for that purpose.

What strikes me this morning while reflecting on this verse is that Paul is writing the letter we know as 2 Corinthians to believers. He is not pleading with them to come to faith; the whole letter is geared toward helping his readers come to terms with the implications of what it means to be in the faith.

We know that there is a progressive element to salvation: it is a process that was begun at a point in time. When we come to faith in Jesus, we begin that process.

What I heard in this phrase this morning is: Now is the day to repent of failure and begin again. Now is the day to be transformed (Romans 12:2). Now is the day to continue the process of being redeemed from the effects of sin.

“Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness!”

Lamentations 3:22–23, CSB

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“Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful things, not acting deceitfully or distorting the word of God, but commending ourselves before God to everyone’s conscience by an open display of the truth.”

2 Corinthians 4:2, CSB

Listening to this verse, I thought about recent years when church leaders had decided that being “seeker sensitive” meant that the events on a Sunday morning would be kept light and breezy and nothing would take place that would make anyone feel uncomfortable.

Paul talked about being all things to all people, but that did not mean that he was unable to present the truth of the gospel to those who might find it offensive. The way he was treated by his hearers gives evidence that he didn’t hold anything back. Later in the letter of 2 Corinthians, Paul tells us, “Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning . . .”

Other churches intentionally distort the meaning of Scripture to not give an offense, or to adapt the teaching of their church to current cultural demands. Again, Paul did not do this. He presented “Jesus Christ and him crucified.” He did not add to, or take away from, the Gospel.

My last few posts have been dealing with the issue of fear, and my (perhaps our) need to refuse to allow fear to keep me (us) from becoming what God intends me (us) to be. Fear is our Enemy’s tactic to keep us frozen and not advance in spiritual growth.

Why do churches resort to what Paul calls “acting deceitfully” in their teaching and practice? I believe one reason is fear of rejection by the culture around them. We all want to be accepted and liked. But we cannot allow this desire to corrupt who we are and the message we have to proclaim.

Perhaps another motivation is the fear of failure. When church leaders lose sight of whose responsibility it is to build the church, they feel pressure to tweak the teaching and practice of the church to fill the seats (and fill the offering plates).

But, Jesus is the one who promised to build his church, and if we move away from the message he has given us to proclaim, then we have usurped his authority and gone rogue.

If you are encouraged by this post or would like to join in a conversation, please use the comment form below to offer your feedback. If you are reading this in an email and would like to comment, you can reply to the email or click on the “Read in browser” link below to go to the web page where you can enter a comment. I enjoy hearing from you.