Remaking Us
As a younger man, I was easily provoked. I’m happy to say that this is not as much of a problem for me nowadays. If I were to point to any one thing that’s made the difference, I would say that it has been God’s hammer and chisel at work on the stony, prideful flesh of my life and character.
It took some personality-altering trials to remake me into the man I am today. “Sometimes, we just have to have the spokes kicked out of our bicycle.” That’s how my former Executive Administrator at Seoul International Baptist Church described how God uses high-stress situations to alter our character.
Years before his words, one of my mentors gazed deeply into my prideful eyes and said, “Dan, you’re going with God. You can go the easy way, or you can go the hard way, but you’re going with God.” Boy, were his words ever prophetic! Believe me, when I say that I have some serious spiritual road burn.
God loves us enough to allow us to go through some character-altering events in life. Our Bibles provide ample evidence of this through the stories of men like Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Peter, and Paul, among others. Following Jesus means that, like him, we learn obedience through the things we suffer. Unlike us, Jesus was sinless. Nevertheless, he had to come to the place where he was willing to say to his Father, “Not my will, but your will be done.” That’s the place God where God is leading all of us.
In Christ,
Dan
Check out my podcasts from Church on the Edge and my books on Kindle.
You can listen to my weekly messages at Embrace Church, High Point.