James 1:2-4 “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
- Be Ready! When you meet trials – these will come, there is no doubt about it.
What are you like when you are under pressure? “If a sudden jar can cause me to speak an impatient, unloving word, then I know nothing of Calvary love. For a brimful of sweet water cannot spill even one drop of bitter water, however suddenly jolted." (Amy Carmichael)
Being ready means that we are prepared for the testing, to choose rightly. In the New Testament, the same Greek word is used for trials as for temptation. What determines whether it is a temptation or a testing is your response to it. Every situation tells you something about yourself. So you can have two people, identical situations, one will go right and one will go wrong.
Why did the Lord God test the Israelites? "I did it so that I would know what was in your heart." Deuteronomy 8:2-3: When the testing times came, what was in them was what came out. And it was obvious what was in their hearts. They did not have gratitude, it was not obedience, not love for the Lord their God, it was not covenant keeping.
It WAS grumbling, it WAS an attitude that was all wrong, their hearts were lusting after evil things, Paul tells us, and that was the essence of their failure. They failed to appreciate blessings. They did not obey, and immediately engaged in idolatry.
It WAS grumbling, it WAS an attitude that was all wrong, their hearts were lusting after evil things, Paul tells us, and that was the essence of their failure. They failed to appreciate blessings. They did not obey, and immediately engaged in idolatry.
Idolatry sounds strange to us today...so what is it? It is the substitution of God by man for something man prefers over God. A decision on the part of man not to honor or, worship, not to glorify the one true God, but to honor and glorify what is a substitute for the one true God. So humans now worship that which they created, that which they control…a most heinous of sins.
DO you have any substitutes for God? Things you control, trust, worship?
"...When you meet trials of various kinds..."The Greek word for "various" refers to a variety of colors – the nature of external temptation is attractive coloring that is pleasing to the eye and wooing to the taste. For the Christian, it is hard to resist. Temptation has many colors.
Only through temptations can the genuineness of faith be established. Temptations allow our faith to be tested. Do you have temptations right now? Or are you so complacent that you don’t feel any pressure? God promises in Romans 5:3 that trials and temptations work patience in it, making our faith complete.
Jesus did not find his trials enjoyable. He prayed often during His trials, spending time with God. He prayed for them to pass, but said He would obey. He was overwhelmed. But he went to the place of overwhelming sorrow, so that he might glorify God. We behold the face of God where sorrow and blood flow mingled down. Glory is possible, but not without gory.
Our Experience
In 2008, we began to live in the expectation that something bad would happen. Dear Husband and I had secretly agreed back in 2002 before we returned to Kabul after evacuating at 9/11, that when we returned, that should the Taliban ever starting shooting/attacking innocent civilians, we would consider that our time to leave Afghanistan.
It was in 2008, there was a 300% increase in incidents against foreigners from the previous year, and all the data we were reading indicated the trend would continue, especially with elections looming. There was the attack on the Serena, kidnappings and killings of aid workers occurring all over the country, friends leaving, lock downs, threats upon threats, more kidnappings, killings, threats, demonstrations. We realized that as leaders of a large organization, we could not leave.
Our concern was compiled with constant daily stresses of : dirty dirt (the Germans had tested the air quality in Kabul and it has a high percentage of fecal matter due to the open sewers); dust storms, culture fatigue, compassion fatigue, sickness, death of mom, cancer of sister, friends leaving, things constantly breaking, feelings of self-disappointment, hardness, compassion, faced with the impossibility of the task, overwhelming, anger, frustration, loneliness, misunderstanding, mullah’s preaching against us; government officials criticizing us; Christians calling us irresponsible for being there.
My husband scolded me for going out without using the buddy system. Constant randomization of schedules, I got sick everytime I went out shopping, due to heat, wearing a chadar, bad traffic, and the dirt...so I did it only once per month or every 2 months. As foreigners, we were isolated and pointed at, the children have had stones thrown at them on the street, bb guns pointed and fired right at them by local children, sexual harassment is constant on the street.
In 2008, we began to live in the expectation that something bad would happen. Dear Husband and I had secretly agreed back in 2002 before we returned to Kabul after evacuating at 9/11, that when we returned, that should the Taliban ever starting shooting/attacking innocent civilians, we would consider that our time to leave Afghanistan.
It was in 2008, there was a 300% increase in incidents against foreigners from the previous year, and all the data we were reading indicated the trend would continue, especially with elections looming. There was the attack on the Serena, kidnappings and killings of aid workers occurring all over the country, friends leaving, lock downs, threats upon threats, more kidnappings, killings, threats, demonstrations. We realized that as leaders of a large organization, we could not leave.
Our concern was compiled with constant daily stresses of : dirty dirt (the Germans had tested the air quality in Kabul and it has a high percentage of fecal matter due to the open sewers); dust storms, culture fatigue, compassion fatigue, sickness, death of mom, cancer of sister, friends leaving, things constantly breaking, feelings of self-disappointment, hardness, compassion, faced with the impossibility of the task, overwhelming, anger, frustration, loneliness, misunderstanding, mullah’s preaching against us; government officials criticizing us; Christians calling us irresponsible for being there.
My husband scolded me for going out without using the buddy system. Constant randomization of schedules, I got sick everytime I went out shopping, due to heat, wearing a chadar, bad traffic, and the dirt...so I did it only once per month or every 2 months. As foreigners, we were isolated and pointed at, the children have had stones thrown at them on the street, bb guns pointed and fired right at them by local children, sexual harassment is constant on the street.
Afghans who associate with us may be harassed, even killed, Taliban check phones of our Afghan friends and if they have numbers of foreigners, the Afghan is usually detained then killed. Satan is trying to do everything he can to get the foreigners out of there, to keep Afghans from foreigners, and to kill the efforts of raising the Church.
It was during that Spring and Summer as I meditated on the lives of the prophets, that their families didn’t get up and leave when the going got tough. They stayed through it all, suffering with the people. They kept telling the people to repent. They endured, and they persevered.
And I realized that this is what we were called to....and our children had to be with us. To this day, the government has chosen not to listen; not to repent, and is following the same path as the kings the prophets were preaching against in the Bible, and the people suffer....oh how they suffer.
Then G. was killed. She was walking two blocks from our home and killed point blank. The war lord known as “the vampire of Kabul” claimed responsibility. We knew we were entering a new stage of insecurity in Afghanistan with this kind of attack.
I prayed, Lord, take this cup from me. It felt so dark and scary to consider staying through that winter; I was glad my mother was not alive to see that day, and I could not imagine what our families back home were going through; I was so afraid. I didn’t want this for my children!
I prayed, Lord, take this cup from me. It felt so dark and scary to consider staying through that winter; I was glad my mother was not alive to see that day, and I could not imagine what our families back home were going through; I was so afraid. I didn’t want this for my children!
I prayed with my children: Psalm 23 – Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Thy rod and they staff comforteth me... As the winter and then spring months progressed, we experienced this amazing "bubble" of unexplainable peace around us.
We really did have a table in the presence of our enemies, even as we were going into the valley of 8 months straight of almost constant "lockdowns" for families. Even though we still lived in the expectation that something bad would happen, we had supernatural peace.
We really did have a table in the presence of our enemies, even as we were going into the valley of 8 months straight of almost constant "lockdowns" for families. Even though we still lived in the expectation that something bad would happen, we had supernatural peace.
A friend wrote to me and he encouraged me, "There are two flowers contrasted in the Bible: the Rose of Sharon, which grows up in the sunshine on the plain. As you go through the valley, you'll find the flower that only grows there, in the cool shady places. It's where you’ll meet the Lily of the Valley, Jesus Christ himself.
And we did.
Go to Part Three
And we did.
Go to Part Three
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