Hi, I’m Joni and you are listening to Joni and Friends.
I loved Chemistry back in high school. Give me a Bunsen burner and a pack of matches any day! Give me a Petri dish and I'll sure-as-anything grow you some bacteria. Give me a test tube and a chemistry beaker and a pair of goggles and you just watch how quickly I can oxidize iron. I did very well in Chemistry, I did – not that I memorized the entire periodic table, but I sure knew my lanthanides from my actinides! I guess what I liked most about Chemistry was seeing one thing become an entirely different thing. To me, it was a fascinating mystery how one chemical element could completely change into an entirely different element through alchemy; through a chemical reaction.
I thought about that this morning when I read Philippians 1:19. The apostle Paul was a prisoner in Rome and he’s talking about the hardships and the sufferings and the struggles he’s facing… but he does so in such a cheerful tone of voice. And he explains this whole… this whole spiritual alchemy in verse 19 when he says that his sufferings have “turned to his salvation.” That right there is the fascinating mystery of how Paul was able to turn sorrow into laughter… sadness into joy… trials into triumphs… and suffering into something entirely different -- his salvation.
What a lesson for me! No, it’s not a chemical reaction, but it sure seems like it. Because only –and I mean only – in the laboratory of God can suffering actually work for our salvation. In the alchemy of God, we can rejoice in suffering because it has the potential of making us stronger spiritually. In God's chemistry, the Christian can see suffering as that which proves and refines, perfects, matures and confirms His salvation. Our hardships are like Bunsen burners and matches in God's hands through which we turn away from sadness in suffering, and step into this lively, buoyant, victorious life in Christ, even to the point of rejoicing in affliction. And… we change. We leave the old life behind and become something different; we become more and more that new creation God has saved us to be. We die to sin – the grumbling and complaining that often goes with suffering – and through heavenly grace, heavenly alchemy, we live to God, being transformed from glory to glory; changed from the old into the new; sanctified through and through.
In the alchemy of God, trials are stepping stones to spiritual maturity. Your trials shall turn to your salvation, as it says in Philippians 1:19. So, friend, I challenge you to try a little bit of spiritual alchemy if you’re going through tough times. Please, let hardships turn out to your salvation – and, oh, what a reaction that will create. Yep! You might even find yourself actually rejoicing in suffering. And be all the different for it… all the better.
Friend thanks so much for these special few minutes we have been able to share together. Because this program is call Joni and Friends, please note I would love to hear from you so drop me a line on Joni’s Corner at joniandfriends.org or you can always contact us at P.O. Box 3333, Agoura Hills, California 91376.
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