Three men are on my mind today, who each were in trials, and had a similar heart response. They are some of my heroes of the faith.
In Acts 12, we find a Trial. Not just in the metaphorical sense of a time of difficulty, but in the courthouse sense. A Public Trial, to be immediately followed by a Public Execution. Here are the first six verses of Acts 12, quoted from The Message:
"That's when King Herod got it into his head to go after some of the church members. He murdered James, John's brother. When he saw how much it raised his popularity ratings with the Jews, he arrested Peter-- all during Passover Week, mind you-- and had him thrown in jail, putting four squads of fours soldiers each to guard him. He was planning a public lynching after Passover. All the time that Peter was under heavy guard in the jailhouse, the church prayed for him most strenuously. Then the time came for Herod to bring him out for the kill. That night, even though shackled to two soldiers, one on either side, Peter slept like a baby. And there were guards at the door keeping their eyes on the place. Herod was taking no chances!
Okay, so Peter knows he is about to die. He has done nothing wrong but testify as to who he KNEW Jesus to be. But he will shortly be publicly executed for that truth-telling. And, he is okay with that injustice. That lack of FAIRNESS. But how do I know?
"That night, even though shackled to two soldiers, one on either side, Peter SLEPT LIKE A BABY."
How could he be so calm? So unruffled? Was he remembering the words of Jesus, recorded in John 6:37-40?
"All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will, but to do the will of Him who sent me. And this is the will of Him who sent me, THAT I SHALL LOSE NONE OF ALL THAT HE HAS GIVEN ME, but will raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."
For Peter, his future was set. The important one. His eternal one. The present? That was just details. He was fulfilling his mission to tell everyone he met about Jesus, and in the next few day he would get to tell the king and his advisors too. Cool! So all was well.
Later that night, an angel came, opened the prison doors, and walked Peter out to his freedom. And that's an incredible story of a miraculous delivery! And yet, I think the bigger story is that Peter was sleeping soundly, chained between two ugly soldiers, on the eve of his execution...
Father Abraham is another example of a man at peace in his circumstances. In his case, it was a SERIOUS disconnect between God's promises to him, and the Real World he could see with his eyes. Romans 4:18-21 provides context:
Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed, and so became the father of many nations, just had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be." Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact THAT HIS BODY WAS AS GOOD AS DEAD- since he was about 100 years old and that Sarah's womb was also dead..."
That's where some of my friends and I are right now. We have diagnosis of an incurable cancer, called Mantle Cell Lymphoma. There is no medical cure. You treat it and knock it back, but eventually it gets you. So what you do meanwhile, is you treat it, and then you live your life. The passage continues on:
"Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, BEING FULLY PURSUADED THAT GOD HAD POWER TO DO WHAT HE PROMISED..."
What God promised him, to be the father of many nations in his old age, had NO CHANCE of fulfillment. Impossible. That's not how biology works. But he didn't care. He trusted that God would fulfill the promise, and then he went back to living his everyday life. God would take care of the future.
Finally, I want to tell you about one of my favorite authors, Nabeel Qureshi, who wrote "Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus" and two other books, and then got cancer. Here was his take on his situation:
"This is an announcement that I never expected to make, but God in His infinite and sovereign wisdom has CHOSEN me for this refining, and I pray He will be glorified through my body and my spirit. My family and I have received the news that I have advanced stomach cancer, and the clinical prognosis is quite grim. Nevertheless, we are going to pursue healing aggressively, both medical and miraculous, relying on God and the fact that He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine."
And that's where I am at right now. I believe that, for His purposes, God has chosen me for this refining, for this season of difficulty, and I am good with it. Nabeel did eventually die of that cancer at age 34 (I will be 54 tomorrow), but I submit to you that he fulfilled his mission, and God took him. (My own mission is ongoing, so nobody panic.) As I think of his testimony, I am reminded of James 1:12, quoted from The Message:
"Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life."
And so my friends, some of you also are in the middle of a trial- a "Testing Challenge," as James puts it. May God give you the grace to stick it out, and may He reward you with Life and More Life.
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