COMPELLED TO BECOME PERFECT

The divine providence of God, simply stated, means that God protects, guides and cares for believers.  Jesus understood the true goal of God’s providential care is not necessarily the believer’s well-being in the here and now; rather, the goal of God’s care is the fulfillment of His redemptive plan which includes our perfection -- “You shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matt. 5:48) – the conformance of our nature into Christlikeness.  This is why Jesus sweat drops of blood in the garden of Gethsemane and said “Father, if it is Your will, remove this cup from Me: nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done”.  Our Savior was learning obedience through suffering, so that “being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation” (Heb. 5:8-9), through the providential will of the Father. As Christians we sometimes do experience God’s protection and at other times we experience suffering and hardship; our experiences of both protection and suffering are both a result of God’s providence, His ordering of the events in our life to further His redemptive plan. Perfection is the product of suffering (1 Peter 5:10), and God is very serious about our perfection which Paul summarized as being “conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29). Paul knew a bit about suffering (2 Cor. 11:23-27, 12:7), having been shown by God the many things he would suffer. (Acts 9: 16) And we know that “all things work together for good” (Rom. 8:28); but don’t ignore the three conditions the rest of this verse place on this often quoted first line.   “To those who love God” (condition one), “To those who are the called” (condition two), and “according to (in harmony with) His purpose” (condition three). It is within the framework of God’s purposes for us that all things we experience work together for good – yes, even the unpleasant things. The Apostle Paul and Smith Wigglesworth came to understand what the Apostle John knew very well: “And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask any thing according to (in harmony with) His will, He will hear us, and …we know that we have the petitions.” (1 Jn. 5:14, 15) Sometimes their prayers for healing were not answered that their suffering, their light affliction, might work for them “a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory”, in accordance with God’s will. (2 Cor. 4:17) God is purposeful and intentional, and irrevocably committed to our complete transformation. He knows what He wants, our perfection. He compels us with difficulties, for they compel us toward Him.

NEVERTHELESS NOT MY WILL, BUT YOURS