The Strength Is In The Struggle

I ran across this at the Godshack Blog. I love the illustration of the caterpillar and the butterfly. The lonely butterfly egg hatches. The caterpillar just begins to instinctively eat the leaf it was hatched on. When it finishes that leaf it finds another. Yet one day, by God’s design, it climbs a small branch and spins a cocoon. In that cocoon, the caterpillar melts. From that liquid, God forms the butterfly. That is why the butterfly is all wet when it comes out of the cocoon. It then has to laboriously stretch out its wings to cause the liquids to move into its veins. Then it rests. Then it stretches out again and rests. Finally when it is dry and strong, the tiny thread that secured it to the cocoon breaks and it is free to fly and drink nectar.

Have you ever asked God to remove your trial? Paul did, and the Lord told him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). I like to think about grace as a box. Each side top and bottom is labeled, “My grace is sufficient.” In my struggle, I often say, “Here I am Lord, standing in my grace box.” It helps me to focus on Him and realize afresh that I am surrounded by His grace strength.

Every trial contains another essential step in God’s purpose for our life. Hebrews 10:36 says, “For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.” Did Abraham struggle as he waited twenty some years before God’s promise was fulfilled in his life? Romans 4:18 says, “Who, contrary to hope, in hope believed.” This needful endurance means that we can bear up under our difficult trial through hope, continually drawing our strength from the Lord.

1 Peter 5:10 says, “But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.” Did you notice that the establishing comes after the suffering? So many things in nature bear out this truth. The crocus that emerges through the snow, the baby bird that pecks its way through an egg, the seedling that pushes through the earth, all represent how the strength is in the struggle.

1 Peter 1:7 tells how the fiery trials are necessary to purify our faith. Faith is essential. Hebrews 11:6 says that "without faith it is impossible to please God". There is another aspect to struggling. People watch our faith. It could be that the trial you are enduring right now is a testimony to God’s grace strength in your life. I like to read true life stories of missionaries to see how God was faithful in their impossible circumstances. Their endurance fortifies and encourages me, as I read how God orchestrated their lives, interweaving people and circumstances to fulfill His divine purpose for them.

Galatians 6:9 says, “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” Be encouraged today to stand in your grace box and endure because the strength is in the struggle.

China: Gov't (Still/Again) Struggling Over what to do with the House Church

The Chinese government continues to be in a quandary about what to do with the House Church. Frankly, this story has been going on a l o n g time. Still, one must recognize progress with precaution and concede that slow change has occurred over the past 25 years. Then again, hardliner "crackdowns" remain and they are ordered quite frequently.

Some in the Central Government's Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are looking for a way to exist peacefully with the House Church. -They recognize Christians' positive contribution to society as a whole. At the same time, other high ranking government officials are wary of the House Church because she is not controlled like the "Three Self Patriotic Movement" (TSPM) government-sanctioned church. Furthermore, some government leaders remain hardcore Communists (aka Atheists that still believe "religion is the opiate of the people") while others are not pure Communist ideologues. Moreover, there are secret Christians among CCP ranks at all levels.

So there you have it! My preface to the Christian Newswire story below. A preface that is necessarily marked by multiple modifiers like "then again", "on the one hand, "some, while others", "on the other hand", "still" and the like. -Such is China!

As the Chinese government's evolving struggle over what to do with the House Church continues, please pray that God's sovereignly implements His answer!

"The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes." Proverbs 21:1


CHCA President, Pastor 'Bike,' Issues 4th Open Letter to President Hu Jintao -- HENAN, China, Aug. 31 - Christian Newswire

With the 60th Anniversary Celebration of Communist Party rule in China rapidly approaching, Chinese authorities continue vilifying Christians as "imaginary enemies, " boldly taking actions to dismantle and control the independent Christian church, especially in Beijing. In response, Pastor "Bike" Jiang Mingxuan, President and Founder of the Chinese House Church Alliance, issued his fourth public "Open Letter to President Hu Jintao," on August 16, 2009.



Pastor "Bike" with Newly Ordained Pastors at the Chinese House Church Alliance

In the letter, he listed grievances of specific house churches against the local governments: "These state officials mistreat millions of Christians in China as the "social disturbance." They impose fines and enforce detention to the Christians, claiming they are "cult" and "illegal gathering". Those officials robbed items and money from the Christians and keep the value to themselves." He appealed to President Hu Jintao to reform corruption in the Chinese government and promote legal equality for all believers.


Pastor Bike also shared Christ's love with the President: "The Christians in China were arrested, beaten and killed like lambs by your subordinates but they endure the hardship and love you like Jesus does regardless." Though he assured the President that Chinese Christians would not avenge themselves, he cautioned that "the...persecution Christians suffer will make them stronger warriors for Christ; however, those who persecute the children of God will have to pay the penalty."