“Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. (1 Peter 4:12-13)
This week I have reflected upon the suffering of Christ on the cross and what He was willing to do for you and me so that we might be saved and washed clean of all our sins. He knew what He was doing and what He had to endure to be obedient to the Father who had sent Him to live among us to be our sacrificial Passover Lamp. We don’t have to suffer for our sins. He has paid the full price and we have been declared “not guilty” even though we are so very guilty!
So now that we have come to the realization that we have been saved and “born again” why is it that we have to still endure trials in this life? One of the best illustrations I have read about this has to do with what Steve McVey in his book “The Secret of Grace” has to say about my favorite drink, sweet tea! Yes, I said sweet tea. Mr. McVey is gracious enough to first give us a recipe for “real sweet tea:”
“The first step in making sweet tea is to turn up the heat so the water will boil. The sugar and tea won’t permeate the water until it is very hot. This is the same way God works in people when He is preparing to reveal a beautiful creation in them. Have you ever noticed how much more receptive you are to Him when the heat is turned up in you life? When you are in hot water, you usually get into the receiving mode fast! If you have ever asked God to do something powerful in your life, then don’t be surprised when trouble comes. He may turn up the heat in your circumstances to prepare you to experience His life. The glory of having Jesus expressing His life through you requires that you pass through the fire. It’s not pleasant while it is happening, but when the process is complete the finished product is quite a treat!”
(Read 1 Peter 4:12-13 above again)
“Unlike cold tea and sugar, hot tea and sugar are totally compatible with each other. In fact, the sugar quickly dissolves when stirred into hot tea. Once the sugar has dissolved, the very nature of the liquid is changed. The tea and sugar are combined and will never be separated. Their distinct elements have merged together in such a way that they are now one new entity. This isn’t the case with iced tea. It is impossible to get sugar to dissolve in tea once it has been served over ice. No matter how much you stir it, the two just won’t mix.”
“When God prepares to manifest the sweet presence of His life within us, He uses heat to cause us to be receptive to His permeating our whole being. It’s amazing how hard circumstances can cause us to warm up to His working in our lives.”
“His indwelling life has transformed our very nature. Just as the sugar and tea have become one, we have been united with our God through Jesus Christ and can never be separated. The Apostle Paul wrote, ‘In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to praise and glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.” (Ephesians 1:5-6)”
“Through your adoption in Jesus Christ you have a nature that is in union with God. This union is more than a lofty theological precept. It’s a down-to-earth practical reality that can transform the way you live your life every day. It’s the realization that our lives aren’t independent and separated from the God who created us. To the contrary, our very existence is bound up in Him. There is no God-up-there and you-down-here. You and He are one just as the Father is one with the Son and the Spirit. It is an irreversible, unchangeable union.”
“The Bible says, ‘If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold new things have come.’ (2 Corinthians 5:17) That union is what gives you your identity. When have you heard someone refer to tea as ‘water with tea and sugar in it’? It’s nature has been changed; therefore, it is identified by a new identity—sweet tea.” (The Secret of Grace by Steve McVey, pp.42-44)
Sweet tea anyone?
If you are a born again believer you are a “new creation!” Are you and I acting like one? Are we are allowing the Holy Spirit that lives within us to control us, and are we resting in Him everyday? If we are, then we will be acting like He wants us to, and how He has prepared for us to live for Him in this life, and in the next.
PRAY
1. Thank You Lord Jesus for living within in me through Your Holy Spirit. Fill me and control my thoughts, my will, and my actions this day.
2. Help me to rest in You today, and to “cast all my cares upon You.” You are my Hiding Place” and my “Shelter from the storm.”
3. Help me to see through the eyes of Your heart those that I come in contact with today and help me to talk to them about You, if they do not know You as their Lord and Savior.
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