Week Five - Ouch

The other day, I walked into the corner of a countertop, resulting in a deep bruise that lingered for several days. I am being more careful now! Bruises are evidence of contact with another object, and I definitely made contact with that countertop.

Bruises in life are the same. They are evidence of contact with another object and sometimes leave evidence behind.

1 Peter 1:6 reads, "Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations."

The word through does not mean a place and time. It means we are in the problem. It could read, "heaviness in or by manifold temptations." These things leave their mark, but Peter tells us to rejoice during those times. 

I didn't rejoice when my leg connected with that countertop, but my bruise lasted only a season. It didn't stop me from getting on with life. And most of the bruises we experience, whether physical, spiritual, or emotional, are the same. They only last for a while, leaving no enduring mark once they are past.

But some bruises do make a mark. They change our thoughts, relationships, and sometimes even our future.

Spurgeon comments about the bruises of life, saying, "It is that breaking down of the spirit, that pulling down of the strong man, that is the every fester of the soreness of God's scourging - 'the blueness of the wound, whereby the soul is made better.'"  

He is quoting Proverbs 20:30, which reads, "The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so do stripes the inward parts of the belly." A bruise heals; its blueness is the body's cleansing of the injury.

We don't like that breaking down of the spirit or the idea of weakness, much less God's correction, but these bruises make us stronger and better. They are necessary to our maturing and spiritual growth.

Spurgeon gives four reasons why heaviness, bruises, and temptations are necessary and often beneficial.

1. Through them, we learn the fellowship of Christ's sufferings. Our bruises will never be as great as His, but as we experience heaviness and suffering, we are linked with His suffering, the man who was in all points tempted as we are and yet overcame. Through Him, we, too, can be overcomers.

2. Pride and self-sufficiency are snipped in the bud when we experience heaviness during our troubles. A dose of humble pie goes a long way to keeping us kinder and sweeter. Only as we yield to God's hand in suffering do we understand our place and find contentment in it.

3. Through heaviness in manifold temptations, we often learn lessons we would not otherwise learn. In my life, depression taught me more than any years of happiness ever had. I still remember the lessons I learned and the God I came to know. Though it was a dark place and one I would not want to repeat, it was one of those "needed" places. I would not have developed as strong a relationship with my Saviour without going through the dark valley, so I rejoice in it now!

4. Hardships, bruises, and dark times increase our ability to sympathize and empathize with others experiencing similar valleys. These bruises make us better friends, parents, and even Christian workers. We can comfort and point each other to hope in Christ, hope that carried us through the valley and will carry them, too.

So, let's not fear the bruise. It holds God's purpose for our good. We can even rejoice because it is evidence that God is at work in our lives, cleansing, preparing, and humbling us for greater service. 

And next time you are close to a countertop - be careful!