“Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him…” Job 13:15
Job was a picture of Christ in His sufferings. It is a picture that many Christians try their best to circumvent in their Christian walk, and, as a result, is one of the most misunderstood and ignored aspects of the path that is set before us as true, converted Christians. But it is the compass that points us to Cross.
Three universal themes of Christianity pour forth from this picture: brokenness, suffering, and trust -- all themes that are impossible to fully grasp without a crucified walk in God.
At church the other day, the meaning of what a crucified walk was presented as the refusal of sin. But the idea of being crucified with Christ encompasses so much more than that. It is not merely the refusal to allow oneself to fall to temptation, but the severing of our hearts and souls from the perspective of this world and all it’s desires, and to reach forth into the realm of God’s holiness to walk in His Spirit. There is a change in our point of view to deny oneself of being led by what we want, and to surrender to another master other than ourselves.
Everyone wants to walk in the Spirit, but there is a price to pay. It is not accomplished through work, or edification; it doesn’t come through our own efforts, accomplishments, or victories; neither does it reveal itself through seeking wisdom by reading someone else’s books. It comes through surrender.
Only when we give up trying to reach God by building our own Tower of Babel, and finally acknowledge that, no matter how hard we try, we will never come to that place in God where He, and only He, is in complete and total control of our lives. We read books, do good works, force ourselves to witness, pay money into worthy ministries, and try our hardest to be good Christians worthy of His Love. But all those, while they may be wonderful things, will not bring us into the presence of His righteousness. No, you have to be broken before you can be used of God. It will not be your works in God that justifies you, but allowing Him to do His works in you.
To come to that place, you first have to admit defeat. Only then can you ever understand the power of the sufferings of the Cross. The world (and worldly Christianity) can never understand that. It is not that we suffer because He suffered first for us, but rather that we are issued into the glory of the Cross by allowing the sufferings of our faith to separate us from this world and all that it entices us with.
The separation of flesh from Spirit opens our eyes to see things in a totally different light. Becoming a Christian is not like joining some club, a member of some Church, but rather we now see as God sees because our eyes no longer look through a worldly lens. We are different because we see differently, our desires are no longer our own, and the comfort of our lives is no longer our goal.
Once you are broken to that extent, the sufferings of the Body of Christ become the joy of your existence. It no longer matters what happens to you, because your life is invested in Him alone. Is there pain? Are there insurmountable problems and destruction that you are going through? Have you lost everything? It no longer matters. You are in that secret place of the Most High, your life is in His hands, and you rest in the knowledge that it is part of His plan for your life.
It takes brokenness to allow us to be willing to suffer for His name’s sake.
Whenever I preach, I try to bring forth this one point that encompasses the essence of Salvation: the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not about you; it is about others. Always others. It is the message of the Cross, the cornerstone of Christianity upon which all else is built. Get this wrong, and you will never understand the Cross, nor the sufferings of the Body of Christ.
Only once you are broken, can you truly trust God. You can trust Him through the valleys, through sickness, through destruction, through the loss of all things, even through death, because it is no longer about you, but about the Plan of God. You are broken; your sufferings have extracted you from your fleshly desires, and you are now only an instrument for His glory, and He will direct your paths.
Then you will understand what a crucified walk in God really is.
Brother Dale