Sometimes we wonder where God is. Sometimes we ask how could He let bad things happen to His people. I used to wonder the same things too until I understood His purpose in me.
God's purpose in us is revealed in Ezekiel 36:
25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
This is the new covenant that God has promised to all those who would repent and believe in the Gospel. I am deeply convinced by Scripture that this is the primary purpose of God to His people. It is not His primary will to grant us earthly prosperity even though we receive such blessings. His deepest desire for us is that we may be "cleansed from our impurities and idols". And what does this mean? Well how do you cleanse a child with dried mud on his face? Do we merely sprinkle water and hope it washes the mud? Nay, we get a towel, wet it and scrub it off. How do we remove impurities from gold? Soak it in chemicals? Nay, that won't really do anything. Gold must pass through a furnace heated below its melting point. In that way, all those impurities will melt away living the real gold intact and unharmed. All these analogies point out to the way God works.
You see first thing you must admit is that you need cleansing. You need serious help. You don't only need to be forgiven for your sins. You also need to be cleansed from your sins. Charles Leiter, one of those old school preachers, once said: "Man has only two real problems. One, he is under the condemnation of sin. Second, he is under the power of sin." Problem number one is solved when we repent and believe in the Gospel (Mark 1:15). We are saved from the wrath to come by grace through faith alone in Christ. But the second problem still remains. How then shall it be resolved? The washing of the Holy Spirit in regeneration. The Son eternally justifies us. The Holy Spirit continually sanctifies us.
We are not just kids with dried mud in our faces or raw gold with many impurities. We are men drenched in sin. Sin has become so natural to us that we don't even know how deep our sin goes. It has corrupted our very natures and believe it or not, prior to conversion, we are enemies of God.
Thus, how does God teach us strength? How will God remove the idols of our lives or cleanse our impurities? He throws us into the furnace with love. God is more concerned with our spiritual state than our self-esteem. He will corner us into a situation where we would have no choice but to trust Him. He will put us in situations where our patience will be tested or real righteousness will be learned. He can take some things from us, especially those we take pleasure from, in the same way He did with Job. Or perhaps, bless us abundantly in such a way that we would be ashamed, realizing that we don't deserve anything.
Looking back at the needle holes I went through, I am glad to have a God who loved me so much that He threw me into the furnace. Make no mistake, He does not wish for us to perish. He takes no joy in watching us suffer. But He loves us so that He does these things not only for our sakes but for the good of His Name. Besides, shouldn't diamonds be cut to make them more beautiful? Or should not the vine dresser trim the vine branches to make them bear more fruit?
More so, does not the Father have the right to discipline His children? Does not the Father have the right to teach His children heavenly manners to prepare them for the coming banquet? Does not the God of this universe have the right to finish the work He began with all His sons that they may be acceptable to Him on the day of judgment?
Let us be thankful in every situation. Good or bad, joyful or sorrowful, all these things work out for good. Our God is a sovereign God and no sparrow falls down to the ground without Him knowing. Believe. Trust. Obey. Lets do all these things like children with fear and trembling; all for His glory.
God's purpose in us is revealed in Ezekiel 36:
25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
This is the new covenant that God has promised to all those who would repent and believe in the Gospel. I am deeply convinced by Scripture that this is the primary purpose of God to His people. It is not His primary will to grant us earthly prosperity even though we receive such blessings. His deepest desire for us is that we may be "cleansed from our impurities and idols". And what does this mean? Well how do you cleanse a child with dried mud on his face? Do we merely sprinkle water and hope it washes the mud? Nay, we get a towel, wet it and scrub it off. How do we remove impurities from gold? Soak it in chemicals? Nay, that won't really do anything. Gold must pass through a furnace heated below its melting point. In that way, all those impurities will melt away living the real gold intact and unharmed. All these analogies point out to the way God works.
You see first thing you must admit is that you need cleansing. You need serious help. You don't only need to be forgiven for your sins. You also need to be cleansed from your sins. Charles Leiter, one of those old school preachers, once said: "Man has only two real problems. One, he is under the condemnation of sin. Second, he is under the power of sin." Problem number one is solved when we repent and believe in the Gospel (Mark 1:15). We are saved from the wrath to come by grace through faith alone in Christ. But the second problem still remains. How then shall it be resolved? The washing of the Holy Spirit in regeneration. The Son eternally justifies us. The Holy Spirit continually sanctifies us.
We are not just kids with dried mud in our faces or raw gold with many impurities. We are men drenched in sin. Sin has become so natural to us that we don't even know how deep our sin goes. It has corrupted our very natures and believe it or not, prior to conversion, we are enemies of God.
Thus, how does God teach us strength? How will God remove the idols of our lives or cleanse our impurities? He throws us into the furnace with love. God is more concerned with our spiritual state than our self-esteem. He will corner us into a situation where we would have no choice but to trust Him. He will put us in situations where our patience will be tested or real righteousness will be learned. He can take some things from us, especially those we take pleasure from, in the same way He did with Job. Or perhaps, bless us abundantly in such a way that we would be ashamed, realizing that we don't deserve anything.
Looking back at the needle holes I went through, I am glad to have a God who loved me so much that He threw me into the furnace. Make no mistake, He does not wish for us to perish. He takes no joy in watching us suffer. But He loves us so that He does these things not only for our sakes but for the good of His Name. Besides, shouldn't diamonds be cut to make them more beautiful? Or should not the vine dresser trim the vine branches to make them bear more fruit?
More so, does not the Father have the right to discipline His children? Does not the Father have the right to teach His children heavenly manners to prepare them for the coming banquet? Does not the God of this universe have the right to finish the work He began with all His sons that they may be acceptable to Him on the day of judgment?
Let us be thankful in every situation. Good or bad, joyful or sorrowful, all these things work out for good. Our God is a sovereign God and no sparrow falls down to the ground without Him knowing. Believe. Trust. Obey. Lets do all these things like children with fear and trembling; all for His glory.
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