Recently, I learned a foundational principle of freedom that is strongly tied to our hardship. To begin, I’d like to share an excerpt from a book by Mark Vroegop, citing John Piper:
“Think of your life as a beaker full of transparent liquid with sediment at the bottom. If the beaker remains stable and still, the solution looks clear—even pure. However, bump the beaker, and the sediment is activated. The appearance of purity is gone.
Suffering bumps the beaker of our lives. It stirs up the sediments we forgot about or tried to hide. Fear, pride, covetousness, and self-sufficiency lie dormant. But pain can reveal these covert enemies.
Hardship reveals what we idolize (in life).”
Wow!
The Bible makes it clear that we were created to bring glory to God.
“Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do ALL; to the glory of God.”
1 Corinthians 10:31
“You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.”
Revelation 4:11
Glorifying God is the only way we will find true satisfaction in this life. This season of my life has revealed so many THINGS that I didn’t even realize I was idolizing. Tim Keller describes “idols” in his book “Counterfeit Gods,” as:
“Anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what ONLY God can give. A counterfeit god is anything so central to it life that, should you lose it, your life would feel hardly worth living.”
Mark Vroegop further explains this:
“The unearthing of idols is part of God’s plan. When pain topples our idols, (Biblical) lament invites self-examination. We can see more clearly the misplaced objects of trust that surface when the layers are peeled back. Pain helps us see who we are and what we (actually) love.”
Jesus promised that when He makes us free, we are “FREE indeed.” (John 8:36) To live in that freedom, we must love Him with ALL our heart, soul, and mind. He has to be our center. Unfortunately, in the good times we can’t always see the truth about the “gods” lying hidden in the sediment. Hardship shakes us up and creates an opportunity to purify our life. It reveals the hidden things we love most and allows us to re-order our loves. We place God at the center and free ourselves from the bondage of hidden idolatry.
What a gift!
When we are born again, we rest in the truth that NOTHING can separate us from the love of God. Hardship can’t take Christ from us. Rather, hardship is an opportunity. As we walk through it with God, He allows us to lament. He sits with us. He is the light. He holds our hand. He draws us in with His goodness. As we draw closer to Him, at the end of the valley, we discover we desire Him more than we desire anything because we are absolutely free when Christ is our center.
We would love to hear your thoughts about this devotional. Did God speak to you or challenge your daily walk with him? Or is there a topic that you would like Kimberly to cover or expound on? Please share with us in the comments below.
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