Marissa Henley

Encouraging weary women to hope in Christ alone

Count on God’s Unchanging Character {No Matter What Monday}

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2017.03.06 (2)

My husband opened the front door to see two small boys holding a shoebox of rocks. They confidently made their sales pitch: rocks for sale, five cents each. Knowing my tendency to buy everything neighborhood kids are selling, my husband asked them, “Have you successfully sold your rocks here before?” Yes, they answered. My husband knew he would soon be the owner of a few new rocks.

Those young rock salesmen targeted our house, hoping to make a sale as they had in the past. They expected our willingness to pay a nickel for a rock from their yard to be the same as it had been the week before.

As God’s children, we get to expect the same from Him. We can put our confidence in His consistent character. God’s Word teaches us that He never changes.

“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.” (Malachi 3:6)

He loves you today just as much as the day His Son died on the cross for you. He demonstrates the same faithfulness now as when He carried you through a difficult time. You can rest securely in His arms, because He won’t be different next year or ten years from now or a thousand years from now. The Lord never changes. When you pin your hopes on Him, you’re not throwing darts at a moving target and hoping one sticks. You’re clinging to a steadfast Rock that stands firm through the ages.

No matter what you face this week, you can count on God’s unchanging character.

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Our Suffering has a Glorious End {No Matter What Monday}

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1 peter 5-10

Why do days filled with mundane tasks tick by so slowly, and vacation days fly by so fast? January and February feel like they will never end, and June just goes zipping by. Happy times seem like minutes compared to seasons of suffering that seem endless.

And  yet, today’s verse takes a different view of time. In God’s timeline, our time of suffering slips by quickly, and our time of glory stretches without end.

“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” (I Peter 5:10)

Peter says, “After you have suffered a little while . . .” Does this make you want to roll your eyes?! Or maybe scream at Peter that he has no idea what he’s talking about? Our suffering doesn’t feel temporary!

Peter understood that suffering sometimes seems endless, but he also understood the truth about the “God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ.” Here, Peter highlights the contrast between our temporary suffering and our eternal glory in Christ. Our present trials are like a gnat on the Mt. Everest of eternity with Christ.

As the verse promises, “God will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” The Lord will bring this to an end—the outcome doesn’t depend on us. It’s a gift of His grace in Christ. He will restore us. He will confirm our position as His children. He will strengthen us by His mercy. He will establish us as heirs of His promises.

One of God’s purposes in our suffering is to point us to its glorious end. One day, He will turn evil on its head and our joy will be sweeter because of our pain. As Tim Keller says, “The evil that hurts us now will be the eventual servant of our joy and glory eternally.”

No matter what we face this week, there will be a glorious end to our suffering.

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God Uses Our Suffering to Produce Steadfastness {No Matter What Monday}

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james 1-2-4

Quick, answer this question: what’s 3 times 8?

As a parent, there are three major hurdles I’ve jumped with my kids: potty training, learning to read, and memorizing multiplication tables. All three of my kids have conquered the first two skills. My youngest is about to start her times tables. I expect she’ll finish learning them in time for me to have a quick celebration . . . before it dawns on me that none of them know how to drive. (Yikes.)

As an adult, we take it for granted that we know our multiplication tables. But as an 8-year-old staring at the giant table of 144 numbers to learn, it seems overwhelming. Yes, there will probably be tears. For both of us. But the hours of drilling and repeating and chanting out loud, “3 times 1 is 3. 3 times 2 is 6. 3 times 3 is 9 . . .” will eventually result in my daughter instinctively knowing the answer to 3 times 8.

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4)

In today’s passage, James is reminding his readers that God has a purpose in their suffering. The testing of their faith will produce steadfastness, and steadfastness will lead to spiritual maturity. James says we should count it all joy when our trials produce these traits in us.

Steadfastness and spiritual maturity may feel about as exciting to you as learning multiplication tables. But from the Lord’s perspective, our steadfastness is beautiful. Just as my daughter’s time memorizing math facts will not be wasted, your suffering will not be wasted. It will produce God’s desired effect: the growth of your faith and character, your perseverance in hope, and your full equipping for the next task God has for you. And from an eternal viewpoint, that’s a great reason to rejoice!

No matter what you face this week, God will use your suffering to produce steadfastness.

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Our Suffering Increases Our Reliance on Him {No Matter What Monday}

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2 cor 1.8-9

My grandpa loved to tell the story of letting my dad drive a tractor when he was a young child. My dad sat on his dad’s lap with his small hands on the steering wheel as they drove over smooth ground. But when they hit a rough patch of bumpy road and the steering wheel bounced erratically, he would throw his hands in the air and yell, “Take it, Dad!”

In a similar way, our suffering causes us to cry out to our Heavenly Father for help. When life is smooth, we are often lulled into thinking we can handle things on our own. Then the rocky patches come and we have no choice but to throw up our hands and plead with Him to pull us through.

“For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.” (2 Corinthians 1:8-9)

In these verses, Paul is telling the Corinthians about his severe suffering—trials so severe that Paul and his companions hoped death would come quickly. But Paul sees God’s purpose in the pain: “to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.”

We cherish our self-sufficiency, don’t we? It’s hard to admit our weakness and ask for help. But when our suffering pushes us to deeper reliance on the Lord, we find He is there, gripping the wheel, guiding us through the hard times. Our greater reliance on Him is a gift He gives us by His grace.

No matter what you face this week, God will use your suffering to grow your reliance on Him.

P.S. This week marks the one-year anniversary of these “No Matter What Monday” devotionals. You can read all 52 devotionals on my website and subscribe to receive the next 52 delivered straight to your inbox. Thanks for reading!

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