stephen R Harrison

Do you treasure Jesus more for what He does or who He is? I like to think I praise Him for who He is, as a goal of my daily Bible study and prayer is to be reminded of God’s incredible and unmatched nature. However, I recently found myself a little “bitter” towards God. I didn’t realize that was lingering in my soul. It surfaced when something had not gone the way I had been praying. I had even found Scriptures I just knew backed up my request from the Lord. I felt “let down” and “resentful” for a moment. The Holy Spirit quickly convicted me of my initial reactions which caused me to carefully examine the motive of my heart. This revealed my trust for the Lord wasn’t where it needed to be. I was doubting God’s character. I was deceived to think He was only good if He granted my request. I asked myself, “Do I love God only for what He does, in the way I want it done, and if it is in the time I want it done? Can I love God and be fully satisfied in Christ if He never answers my request?” I repented of not trusting the Lord is His sovereignty and sufficiency. I know when I trust Him fully, no matter the outcome, then I’ll be most satisfied.

How do we learn to trust and love God more for who He is and not only for what He does or gives? Granted, what He does derives from who He is, but I believe greater glory is given to God when we praise Him for His nature more than from His nurture. I’m not trying to split hairs here, but I think the order of these in how we treasure Christ is important. One of the ways I know God’s nature is by His actions toward me, but it’s not the only or best way. My personal judgments from my experiences of God’s provision (i.e. grace, peace, resources, healing, answered prayer) are not the primary validation or invalidation of character of God. When they are provided, I must be quick to attribute them to a loving, compassionate God. I also must be quick to admit wholeheartedly God knows best in the what, when, how, and why of His provision. I must surrender to the fact that my experiences are not the litmus test for the condition of God’s character and God is good, loving, generous, and wise if it seems His provision is delayed, different, or absent.

God’s perfect nature is revealed to us through the reading of His Word. It is in learning about Him by trusting His divinely inspired Word that should be the foundation of our understanding of His character. Yes, His nature is displayed through the nurture He delivers through the Scriptures, but, if I’m honest, my sinful flesh would have desired different process, timing, and delivery in several of the biblical stories. My flesh would have led with “Just kill Goliath another way, I’m not going out there. Why am I going through this wilderness wandering, just take me to the Promised Land. Rebuild the wall? Just perform a miracle, Lord. Lion’s den? Fiery furnace? Persecution? Suffering? Martyrdom? Not me!” and so on.

The Apostle Paul described this as he explained his “thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). The word “thorn” in the original New Testament Greek is skolops and means “a pointed piece of wood; a stake” that could be used to impale. His trying circumstance was definitely something more than “a little rose bush thorn” or “a splinter”. In agony, he pleaded three times with the Lord to be removed, it seems, over a fourteen-year period (v. 2). He had not become content with “the thorn” as he wanted it removed. He was more interested in its intent. He concluded it was to “keep him from being conceited” (v. 7). It grew his humility and his contentment. It ultimately grew his trust. God could have removed it as (I believe) he allowed it. Paul could have become bitter with it being left in his life. However, Paul saw the remaining presence of the thorn as a means of God’s grace. It seems the unanswered prayer was really an answer to his prayers: “But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.’ Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weakness, so that Christ’s power may reside in me…for when I am weak, then I am strong” (vv. 9-10).