INNsights: True Holiness T3: Victory in Trouble

We would prefer to not face the water, or the flames, but we live in the assurance that we will make it through, because He is with us, and He has released His nature to us in the new creation. Even in the darkest of circumstances, where accidents or tragedies occur, we have the ultimate victory in eternal life. This is the source and sustenance of our joy. This is our confession of confidence and hope. This is what keeps us from depression and distress. It is a great witness of the reality of Christ within us. He is our strength. His joy is our strength. It’s His presence (hope of the glory of God) that makes the difference. This is a part of true holiness, being able to hold things together when things are hard.

---

FULL STUDY:

In the previous study we saw how God’s purpose is that we “reign in life” through Christ. The abundance of grace (joy) and gift of righteousness sets us up to win! Today we will unpack further keys that allow us to engage with the life of Christ within us, and live in the victory of the new creation.

Sometimes life can be challenging. Things don’t go the way we want, or the way we think they should. We live in a fallen world, with an active enemy, and we are still in the process of outworking all we have become in the new creation.

Let’s begin today looking at a continuation from the Romans 5 passage we looked at yesterday. Here is the whole portion, with the section we already looked at in square brackets:

[“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand;] and we exult in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; 5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Romans 5:1-5).

We are standing in the grace of God, the joy of the Lord. Now we add to that “exulting in hope of the glory of God”. Exult means boast or vaunt (Strong’s dictionary). We could take this as a bold declaration, a confident confession. Hope is a confident expectation based on fact and reality. And the glory of God is His manifested magnificence.

From our place of standing in grace, in His joy, we confidently declare our expectation of God’s manifested magnificence. We make that our position, and keep on asserting it. As we do that, we engage the new creation, and align our thoughts, feelings, and choices with that expectation. This is powerful for personal holiness, but sometimes there are circumstances beyond our control that don’t shift. We take these things to prayer, and trust God, but sometimes, this abundance of grace and gift of righteousness springs up as an inner strength, an energy, a resource, an inner resolve, to plough on through and not be shaken. It’s a bit like Isaiah declared about the victory of God:

“But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! 2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you. 3 “For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” (Isaiah 43:1-3).

We would prefer to not face the water, or the flames, but we live in the assurance that we will make it through, because He is with us, and He has released His nature to us in the new creation. Even in the darkest of circumstances, where accidents or tragedies occur, we have the ultimate victory in eternal life. This is the source and sustenance of that joy. This is our confession of confidence and hope. This is what keeps us from depression and distress. It is a great witness of the reality of Christ within us. He is our strength. His joy is our strength. It’s His presence (hope of the glory of God) that makes the difference. This is a part of true holiness, being able to hold things together when things are hard.

“And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations.” Tribulations include pressure, anguish, troubles, afflictions, persecutions. This inner life, this stand in grace, gives us the ability to boast or vaunt about all that bad stuff! This is because we can look beyond the immediate struggle. As the passage continues, “we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope.”

This is learning to “tap the potential in trouble”. From the position of God’s grace-joy, we can make trouble work for us, by letting it produce perseverance, leading to proven character. Notice it does not produce character, because we already possess character in the new creation, in the new nature. We are partakers of the divine nature, and you can’t get better character than that! No, it produces proven character. Trials, tribulations, troubles, all give us the chance to reveal the victory of the character of Christ within us. Without the difficulties, the character might be within, but there is no means to reveal it.

Proven character leads to hope. Hope is the confident expectation of good! The key here is expectation. Deep within us, an expectation arises, an expectation that something good is going to come. Perhaps this links to a statement by Paul in a later chapter of Romans:

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

The term “all things” is a complete gift from God. We don’t have to test this, or try to work out if our current circumstances apply. All things work together for good. God causes it! That’s the hope our passage is talking about.

But now for the real breakthrough moment: The passage continues, “And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

This is totally awesome. All this has a primary purpose, the manifestation of the love of God. God causing things to work together is an expression of His love, and that love is not distant. It is not just a concept or a theology. It is a reality, and a reality right within us, poured out within us by the Holy Spirit. This is an unlimited resource because God is love (1 John 4:8).

This love is within us, and that’s why the hope does not disappoint. Love works in us. Love produces in and through us. Love triumphs in the midst of difficulty and hardship. Love wins! This is true holiness.

In closing today, let us look at a tremendous example of this in Paul’s own life, one that shows us this operates also in the realm of demonic attack and oppression:

“Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! 8 Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. 9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).

God gave Paul tremendous revelation about the new creation. This is a lot of the New Testament! He spoke a few verses earlier about how this had even included him being “caught up into heaven” (check 2 Corinthians 12:1-4). Paul was a dangerous man to the devil, and accordingly Satan assigned an evil spirit (demon) to him to try to prevent him receiving and sharing more (being more exalted). We see the working of this assigned demon in stirring up persecution, riots, calamity and trouble everywhere Paul went (e.g. check 2 Corinthians 11).

Paul’s initial approach was to ask God to remove the evil spirit. That is completely logical. But God’s answer is revolutionary. “My grace is sufficient for you”. In this, He is not telling Paul that he must learn to live with the evil spirit. Rather, He is saying, I have given you all you need to deal with it yourself! My GRACE – My cheerfulness, favor, joy is sufficient. Sufficient for what? Endurance? Sometimes, for a while, like we have been studying. We exult in the tribulation, receive perseverance, proven character, hope and manifested love. But see what God also said to Him. The grace is enough because power is perfected in weakness.

This is incredible! When we face challenges and hardships, and adopt the position we have been discussing, God’s power becomes perfected in us, making us strong. So strong that the irritations of the demonic spirit cannot hold on to us. God’s perfected power is infinitely stronger than any demon, and demons flee from us as we engage that power! Paul’s response is to say he chooses to boast (exult) about his weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in Him. Paul was a carrier of God’s power. Rightly embracing God’s grace in the midst of trial leads to God’s perfected power dwelling within is. True Holiness includes supernatural inner strength.

Can we take on board Paul’s conclusion, and make this confession today?

“Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”