Could Affliction Be a Gift?

Have you ever wished for a gift?  Like, do you remember really wishing you'd get this one thing either for your birthday or Christmas or whatever special occasion was at hand? Or even, just because?

I don't really remember wishing for anything in particular, meaning, not a particular "thing."  But I do remember wishing to get, say, time off from cooking as a present.  I would also wish to get something like a date with my husband so we could go out and see a movie at the theater and then have dinner at a nice restaurant.  Those are my favorite gifts to get.  Of course, I would not reject a pair of gold earrings, a diamond ring, enough money for a shopping spree or even a nice bouquet of yellow roses.  But my favorite gifts are not really material.

However, I want my gift, whatever it is, to be something nice!  Whatever it is, I wish for the present to be pleasant.  A gift is supposed to make you feel special in a positive way.

I do not want a gift that is going to cause me grief, pain, hardship, hurt, problems or anything like that.  So, why in the world should I rejoice in my time of trouble?  Why should I consider trials a good thing?  Why should I feel blessed when things are going all wrong?  Why should I feel special when all the doors seem to close right in front of my nose?

Why would I think of affliction as a gift?

I think it is a matter of Christian growth and faith strengthening.  I believe if our lives were always perfect and untouched by challenges, there would be very little room for God.  I speak for myself here.  If I had a perfectly put-together life without any kind of problems, there would not be any space for anything else, let alone God, in my heart, because my inflated ego and my misplaced sense of accomplishment would fill it completely.  My pride would be so irritating to my eyesight, that I would be blinded to the fact that I need Christ in my life.

I trust that God knows what He is doing.  And if He has determined that affliction is necessary, I believe it.  It is necessary because it keeps us close to Him.  It is necessary because it declutters our soul.  It is necessary because it prunes our heart.  It is necessary because it shows us we cannot do this life alone.  It is necessary because that's the only way to develop an intimacy with God that otherwise would not come to be:

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

God's designed of the crown jewel of His creation, mankind, included us being the clay model of His image.  This way, the divine in us has to break through the clay in order for this esence to be visible and shine brighter than the sun.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. 

2 Corinthians 4: 7-12

These jars of clay we are, reveal the power of Christ in us.  The ordinary material gives way to the extraordinary work of God.  It is because we are simple jars of clay that the world can see it is Christ in us what makes us good... it is not about the clay... it is all about the One Who lives inside the jar of clay.

I'm probably not making any sense now, but I need to meditate on this truth, the truth that affliction is a gift... a good and perfect gift from God.  I have to believe it.  I have to cling to this as a truth from Christ.  I have to trust that: in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8: 28) I have to have faith in the One Who Made this jar of clay...that He pours Himself into it, causing it to break...and that even though the break is painful and almost unbearable, it is necessary so He can be made known... so His Light may shine brightly through the cracks.  

I still won't be asking or wishing for a basket full of affliction for my next special occasion.  But once the affliction is left by my door...I pray I can consider it a great joy, for it is His special gift... a gift that tells me He wants me to be closer to Him... a gift that tells me He loves me... a gift that tells me I am His.