Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
Imagine if we just sat on the couch 24/7 and watched exercise videos and watched nutrition videos. Imagine what that would look like. We'd all be great and healthy, right? No, it'd probably be fun, and we have a lot of knowledge about being healthy—about nutrition or exercise. We probably know how to do everything the right way. But guess what? We would be very, very, unhealthy.
I'm just going to warn you, our Verse is not one of my most favorites and it may not be one of yours either. I just want you to bear with me as we dig into this. I know God's going to use this in your life, because He's used it significantly in my life.
Change Your Perspective
As we consider this about our faith being tested and our perseverance, what if our endurance is able to grow because of it? What if we changed our perspective a little bit? Because this verse does not sound great.
Let's start with this: what are the eternal parts of you? What's the eternal parts of who you are? Take time to consider that—what are those parts of you that are eternal, that will last forever?
If you take everything in your world away that's temporary and won't last for eternity, what's left? Really surface that, identify that, even write it down if you need to. Leave that as the focal point for now, because that is actually what's being challenged, tested, sharpened, and strengthened in our lives.
When Temporary Things Are Damaged
What happens is when we, as the verse says, when our faith is tested—a lot of times that can happen because the things that are actually temporary, that won't last forever, are either damaged, hurt, destroyed, or have turned their back on us. Somehow they're impacting us and it's creating this hurt and struggle in our lives.
That's when—guess what? In those moments, that's when the things about us, the attributes about us that are eternal, jump up off the couch. That's when those things in us, those attributes in us that will last forever, are now getting exercised, are becoming healthier, are becoming stronger—able to endure all that life has before us.
It's in those times that God's able to do such a work in us that we spiritually become healthier and stronger so that we can. Sometimes we think, "I don't want to handle more. I'm okay just the way I am spiritually. I don't want to take on more that's challenging my faith."
God wants us to get to the point where we are healthy enough to endure—not just playing defense with the things that we deal with every day, but actually God preparing us and equipping us and strengthening us to be able to reach the world because they're able to see this new strength that's growing in us.
As our temporary things become something that we're struggling with, that's when our eternal things jump off that couch and now can be exercised for God to do a tremendous work in us.
Iron Sharpens Iron
Now, just to get a little bit different slant to this, the verse in Proverbs chapter 27 and verse 17 says:
"Iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend."
Let's listen to this closely, because nowadays, unfortunately, when there's friction—because that's what this verse is about, iron sharpens iron—it's sharpening—oftentimes we see a departure rather than going deeper.
I just want us to be challenged today that instead of seeing things as a difficulty, as a struggle—that when our faith is tested, when there's friction—instead of it being something that turns into a departure, sometimes it's a departure of faith. Sometimes it's a departure of relationships.
How About We Dig In Deeper?
How about we actually dig in deeper? What if we use these times of friction to actually go deeper in our faith, to actually go deeper in that relationship? To not see it as a challenge or friction to walk away from, but challenge and friction to dig into and get stronger through?
I would just encourage you, because what I have found, and what God challenged me with in this regard, is through those times of challenges—especially when our faith is tested—we want to trust God to get us through it so that when we're on the other side of it, we don't have to trust God anymore.
That's not the relationship God wants with us. God wants us simply to continue to always trust Him.
Always Trust Him
I would encourage you: no matter what you're going through right now, look at it through the lens of allowing the Spirit in you and the things that are eternal about you to jump up off the couch. No matter what's going on, look at it as a challenge. Your spirit, your eternal self, is getting stronger through whatever struggle you're going through.
God has something great in store for you on the other side of this as we get healthy together.
