We were harassed at every turn

2 Corinthians 7:5

Why is it that God leads us in this way, allowing such strong & constant pressure on us?

One of His purposes is to show us His all-sufficient strength & grace

Oddly we’re more dependent in pressure than if we were free from difficulties & trials.

We have this treasure in jars of clay (let’s face it)

We don’t like admitting our weak dependence

Being pushed by desperate conditions

Is to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us

2 Cor 4:7

We just need to be pushed into His strong arms

Each awkward harassment is to bring us a greater awareness of our trust upon Him.

God is constantly teaching us how to rely on Him—
Our Lord is faithfully revealing that we are held completely by His hand
God’s Spirit is relaxing us on His care alone.

We’re being taught exactly how Jesus Himself reacted when He walked this earth
We’re learning each step not theoretically by reading His bio narrative
But we’re experiencing each step practically in on the job training

Jesus desires us to walk as He walked & stand as He stood under oppression
And He lives in & through us as the heat of harassments fires burn around us

And as the 3 men of faith in the fiery furnace in Daniel
we will find that the oppressive fires free us of our bondages

It’s not our self-made strength but our leaning on Him.

It’s not our human responses of irate agitation

But our stand in Jesus, that exhibits a trust in which we learn the difficult lesson
to never dare to take even one step alone without calling out to a Jesus.

The icky harassers will teach us to trust in our Lord more & more.

Their absurd, external & oppressive squeeze of us, will drive us to pray more & more

The irrational extremes in our emotions that well up within us cause a desperation
that arouses our hunger to feed on God’s Word as our daily bread more & more

There is no way to learn of faith except through trials.
These are God’s school of faith lesson plans
These preposterous aggravations are much better for us
as we learn to trust Jesus guiding hand to walk in us through each odyssey

And with each lesson of faith learned, it is a possession of eternal fortune gained.

When we chaff at God’s ways,
the possibilities of great riches
the experiencing of formed gold in our characters
will become impoverishment & losses to bitter acrimony

So we relax in His hands on us & presence in us
through the pummeling outside & pressures inside

Adapted from Days of Heaven upon Earth

Why must we weep when others sing?
“To test the deeps of suffering.”

Why must we work while others rest?
“To spend our strength at God’s request.”

Why must we lose while others gain?
“To understand defeat’s sharpest pain.”

Why must this lot of life be ours
When that which fairer seems is yours?"

Because God knows what plans for us

Will blossom in eternity."