Broken Jars
Regardless, I was awake about 5:30 when the storm moved in, and I lay there listening to the howling wind and pouring rain without really thinking about it. Then I heard a different sound, something sharp and hard hitting the tin roof of the shed right beside my window. I thought it was sleet, maybe; turns out it was hail. Not five minutes later, the wind suddenly picked up to a roar, and Jimmy, who'd gotten up when it hailed, came back down the hall, yelling for everyone to get in the hall closet NOW! We'd just made it in our pajamas when the tornado passed over our house.
Even now, looking back, I'm still a little in awe of how close we came! I'm glad it wasn't a stronger tornado because none of us even had shoes on; if the house had blown away, we'd have been barefoot in the wreckage--not fun! As it was, we lost two of our giant oak trees on the side and back of the house (each one was easily over 250 years old! 😢), and one of the pine trees in the front snapped in two like a toothpick and punched a hole in our roof right over our bedroom. Now our roof is broken, our bedroom and hallway closets are leaking, and we have no power. Fantastic. We've moved in with my very sweet in-laws until repairs can be made.
But with all of this mess to clean up (and, believe me, the rest of our town is just as bad--trees down everywhere!), we have so much to be thankful for! No one in the whole town, that I know of, was hurt. Most of the damage was downed trees and powerlines, though there were a handful of houses like ours that had tree damage. But it could have been so much worse. I know everyone reading this has seen the pictures of the carnage that a strong tornado can cause, and I am so grateful that Sunday morning's was not that strong! Yes, we have a lot of work to do to clean up and fix the mess that is currently our house and neighborhood, but I know that God is faithful and will bring us through it for His own honor and glory.
The funny thing about all this is that I had decided several weeks ago what my devotional for this month was going to be--why Christians experience hardship and difficulties. God certainly has a sense of timing, doesn't He? 😉
II Corinthians 4:7 says, "But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that the extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us (NIV)." When I pondered this verse, I remembered the story of Gideon and his 300 soldiers who carried torches in clay jars so that the sleeping Midianites they were sneaking up on would not know their true numbers. When the time came, they broke the jars, revealing the light inside, blew their trumpets, and then stood and watched the rudely awoken Midianites attack and kill each other in their confusion and fear. Victory came from a broken jar.
Paul said that the treasure of God's glory and power, the gospel, is hidden inside of us, His children--we are the clay jars ("earthen vessels" in the KJV). But how can that light be seen if the jar is whole? I think this may be one of the reasons that God allows trouble in a Christian's life. When our vessels are broken, the world is better able to see the light that is in us.
This is counter-intuitive to the way most of us think. A broken jar reveals what is inside it much better than one without even a crack, and yet our tendency is to look on hardship and difficulties as some kind of punishment. We think, "God must be angry at me to allow such-and-such to happen" or "Why me? What did I do to deserve this?"
But what if God chooses us to go through hardship because, like Job, we are doing everything right? A godly man or woman's testimony during difficulty is a powerful testimony, and it can be life-changing to the world around that individual. The world notices when things go well for God's children, but they really sit up and take notice when things go wrong and we face trials because our response to those hardships is--at least to them--unexpected. I don't know about you, but the faith I
Maybe God allows our lives to be broken and even shattered from time to time precisely so He can show those around us the difference He makes in a person's life. Viewed like this, hardship and difficulty are not a punishment in a Christian's life, but a privilege! For we are honored that God has chosen us, like Job, to demonstrate to the world His surpassing power and grace in the midst of heartbreak and pain. He chooses us to endure these difficulties because He knows He can depend on us to respond correctly--in faith and hope--and so, even in our greatest griefs, we can give Him glory.
Let me make it clear: I am not saying this is the only reason that "good" people suffer--I think there are several different reasons why a child of God may face difficulty and hardship--but I think we in the West, at least, need to change our perspective on trials. We have gotten so comfortable and complacent with our easy, convenient lifestyle that we are prone, when disaster strikes, to think that maybe God is out to get us when, very likely, that is the farthest thing from reality. I pray that we, like millions of persecuted Christians around the world, can face difficulties and hardship willingly and gladly because we understand that it is a necessary part of the Christian life and meant to bring glory to God.
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."
James 1:2-4 (NIV)
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