Lenten Reflection - Day 13, March 15

Lord, You have assigned me my portion and my cup.
Psalm 16:3

Additional Reading: Luke 22:39-44, Philippians 4:6-7, James 1:2-4

Many times in my life so far I have struggled with the “portion” and the “cup” God has chosen for me. The choices He makes for us and the situations He allows us to find ourselves in are often beautiful and often heartbreaking. It’s easy to give thanks for the beautiful times He sends, and not quite so easy to be thankful for the heartbreaking ones. In fact, not only do we have trouble giving thanks for them, we have a hard time accepting that they could have come from Him in the first place. Enter Lie #1 from our enemy: “God must not be in control, because a loving Father would not give me this suffering.” Sound familiar?

Sometimes the hardest part of suffering is knowing that God could have stopped it but chose not to. I think we all understand that suffering is part of living in this world. It’s the feeling that God has disappointed us when we were hoping in Him with all of our heart – that really hurts.

Biblically, there are so many reasons for God-given suffering. One of those vital purposes for suffering in the life of a follower of Jesus is accepting God’s authority and submitting under it. Authority (when you’re the one doing the submitting) has never been fun, and it might never be. However, this concept is one of the first steps to maturity as a believer. Accepting what God, in His wise authority, chooses to hand out to us not only brings us maturity, but also it brings us peace, contentment, and a deeper understanding of faith.

One of my favorite authors, Linda Dillow, taught me a lot about this in her book, Calm My Anxious Heart. She writes, “Sometimes we don’t like what’s been poured into our cup. Remember the Lord Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane? When He saw the suffering He was about to endure, He pleaded, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). Christ grasped the handle of His cup and lifted it to God and said, “I accept my portion. Infuse me with Your strength that I may drink.”

Every cup- whether dainty china or rough-hewn pottery has a handle. God has placed our portion in our cup. We either choose to grasp it by the handle and lift it to Him, saying, “I accept this portion; I accept this cup,” or we choose to smash our cup to pieces, saying, “God, I refuse my portion. This cup is not the right size for me and I don’t like what You’ve put in it. I’ll control my life myself.”

Is there any situation in your life right now or in your past that you have had a hard time accepting? Does the idea of accepting that the suffering came from God make you question His character? As difficult as it is, the process to peace and healing can begin with telling God you want to trust Him whether or not you ever understand His ways. To submit without understanding the answers and reasons why is not a human response; it is only by the Spirit’s power that we can do it. Jesus was victorious and purposeful in His suffering, and by the grace of God we can be, too.