From the book Speechless, written by Lisa Hoffmann (aka Alabastersky)

There is an unpleasant side to sanctification that we don’t always hear talked about from pulpits, such as:

• The seed must first die before it can yield its fruit, or
• The caterpillar that knows the chrysalises is coming before it can spread its wings and fly
• The flower may have thought it’s destiny was to illuminate fields with beauty, but it must be crushed if it is to give us perfume
• The grape may have thought it’s destiny was to hang beautifully on the vine, but it must be trodden if it is to give us wine

Broken bread and poured out wine represent the body of Christ, and tell a story of His sacrifice on the cross.  We read from Luke 9:23 that we’re also required to take up our cross. A cross is a hard thing! Oswald Chambers reminds us that you can’t drink grapes, noting also that, “God can never make us wine if we object to the fingers He uses to crush us with”. 

It’s hard to imagine that such a crushing could ever be worth it, right?

Take for instance the story of Peter and the beggar found in Acts 3. Do you think it’s coincidence that this beggar, who for years sat at a gate that means seasonable or timely, was healed on this day and not before?  The worthiness of God is not contingent upon our circumstances (our circumstances do not determine God’s worth or value), but is it fair to be curious why the beggar had to be in this condition for so long, and wonder why his healing did not come sooner? God may not have orchestrated the crushing, but He did allow it.

The comfort of our physical body is not always God’s highest priority

OOH, ouch, yeah – then there’s THAT!  Like the beggar who had waited years for this miracle, we discover that the comfort of our physical body is not always God’s highest priority – and that can lead us to question His goodness. Why? I believe it is because we struggle to grasp the importance and value of the eternal, weightier things over the temporary, physical things. Our physical comfort is tied to the flesh – this temporary body. Seeing with physical eyes can confuse us because we tend to think His blessings only apply to this physical dimension, to this temporary life.

Think with me of the concept of fasting for spiritual purposes. Fasting is about learning to give up, exchange, or set aside things of comfort for something greater. Why? Because it is in the process of overriding the flesh that we learn to set aside the temporary so that we can tune into the eternal. We can tune into what God is speaking and are able to align to His goodness over ours.

Therefore, my pain can become a sacrifice of comfort to my great God who is worthy of my worship regardless of my present circumstance. Because I have practiced this kind of small sacrifice through things like fasting, whenever something bigger impacts my life, I am apt to see it is an opportunity to give Him praise and thank Him for using what the enemy meant for evil for His glorious purpose instead, because I know He will!

It is the moment when my faith touches His grace.

Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you;
And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
Blessed are all those who wait for Him. Isaiah 30:18