He Hath Showed Thee, O Man ...

Two giraffes ... giving us an example of sharing. More on why God allows prickly people and prickly situations into our lives.

The new teacher in the hall looked down her nose at me when I tried to chitchat with her, my attempt to extend welcome-to-our-school comradery to her falling woefully flat. She looked at me silently, then coolly turned her back on me. Must be shy, I thought. Ha! The direct cuts continued until even slow-to-get-it me realized that her behavior was motivated from something more sinister than shyness. Needless to say, this teacher soon topped my naughty list.

And yet ... wouldn't you know it? This is the very teacher who, when our grade level overflowed with kiddoes, was made a member of our team. Aware of my difficulties with this colleague, and seeing my jaw drop when I heard the news, my dear friend laughed and asked, "What is God trying to teach you, Janine?"

What, indeed. Looking back, I see the need to grow in grace. To not take contempt or disdain to heart, but to keep my eyes on Jesus and continue to show His kindness in the face of it all.

The truth is that life is an obstacle course of beautiful fields threaded with sharp, hurtful stones. And as we traverse these fields called life, and as we wrangle our way the best we can over a challenging craig, God looks down on us and asks, "What do you think I want you to learn from this, my beloved?"

When travails assault us, it does not mean that God does not love us. It does not mean that God has forgotten us. It does not mean that we are not important to Him. Rather, it means that He loves us so much that He has placed us in spiritual school, His very own pass-fail school. Pass the test, on to an oasis until the next uncomfortable boulder we need to clamber over. Fail the test, and, you got it—you repeat the course. Not fun, not fun at all. Especially when some courses are very, very long. Or very, very painful. But the reward ...

So ... on to the church member who walks by you without acknowledging that you even exist. On to the clique that falls silent when you approach. On to the colleague who takes the credit for your accomplishment. On to the stepmother who treats you with such disdain when you reach for or ask for more food that you grow up to actually forget to eat, earning a stick-thin body and a propensity towards anemia. On to test, test, test. Will you pass, or will you repeat the course?

"You're a reprobate shepherd," David's eldest brother Eliab berated him (1 Samuel 17:28). A false accusation to which David turned a deaf ear. Instead of letting the harsh words squash the call he felt to stand up to Goliath, he went on to follow God's course for his life. He went on to greatness.

Miriam and Aaron were on the receiving end of God's rebukes when they complained about Moses' leadership. Yet when they repented, they were restored to their positions, and Aaron and his sons even went on to be established as the lineage of priests in the nation of Israel.

Martha was reproved for not understanding that Mary's choice to sit at Jesus' feet was something to emulate, not reproach. Apparently she took Jesus' words to heart because when her brother died, her first words to Jesus upon seeing him were those of utter faith in Him, despite Lazarus' death (Luke 10:38-42; John 11:21-22).

Then there were people in the Bible who came to their Waterloo but did not learn their lesson. Case in point: the Pharisees. Rebuked strongly by both John and Jesus, most persisted in their rejection of the new order of faith brought forth by Jesus. No repentance. No acceptance of Jesus. No new wonderful life with sins forgiven.

Well did Paul write, "But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour" (2 Timothy 2:20). Tests in this life are a given. They are how we learn to walk close to the Master and in His ways. Passing a test brings honor. Failing a test—dishonour. I don't know about you, but I want to pass my tests. I want to be a vessel of gold and silver.

There are tests in my past that I did not enjoy traversing while I lived them, yet now, with the passage of time, I realize that God knew exactly what I needed to learn at that time in my life. It's not always easy, but "whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth" (Hebrews 12:6). Out of love, a father inflicts the pain of discipline so that the offspring might grow as they should.

May we not allow the trials of life, those painful trials that are rarely fun, to impair our relationship with God. And may He grant us all victory in those tests He allows into our life.

"My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations (trials); knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing" (James 1:2-4).

"He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" (Micah 6:8).