The Inward Journey

By Douglas B. Clark

“To everything — a season, and a time to every delight under the heavens: A time to bring forth, And a time to die. A time to plant, And a time to eradicate the planted. A time to slay, And a time to heal, A time to break down, And a time to build up. A time to weep, And a time to laugh. A time to mourn, And a time to skip. A time to cast away stones, And a time to heap up stones. A time to embrace, And a time to be far from embracing. A time to seek, And a time to destroy. A time to keep, And a time to cast away. A time to rend, And a time to sew. A time to be silent, And a time to speak. A time to love, And a time to hate. A time of war, And a time of peace. What advantage hath the doer in that which he is labouring at?
I HAVE SEEN THE TRAVAIL THAT GOD HATH GIVEN TO THE SONS OF MAN TO BE HUMBLED BY IT” Ecc. 3: 1-10. Young’s Literal Translation.

On more than one occasion I have had trouble seeing how the season I was in could possibly serve the purposes of God. Most recently it was a season learning to be content without the blessing of steady work. It is interesting to me the things that lie dormant in us until we are faced with the right set of circumstances that bring them to the surface. In my mind I had a false expectation of God’s provision, based on my faithfulness to Him. Instead of learning to be content in whatever state I was in I had expectations regarding what I perceived to be God’s role and what I thought was my role. These expectations led to severe travail that in turn brought about utter humility. While in this season it was difficult to do anything but focus on my situation. I have found though that God has a way of directing our attention away from our difficult situations and back to Him. With the passage of time I found out there was nothing I could do to move the hands of God on my behalf. I have learned there is to be no partnership, but only my will conformed to His.

There are many seasons and times we experience in our journey to know God. While in the midst of a negative season where we are wounded it is often hard to understand how our suffering could possibly serve a higher purpose. It is only after we come into a season of healing does the time of wounding make sense. Together as a whole these contrasting seasons express the love and purpose of our heavenly Father. He gives us beauty for ashes, but it is hard to see the beauty while we are still smoldering in the fire. This is the travail that God has given to the sons of man to be humbled by it. It is in our humility that God is able to separate the wheat from the chaff in our individual lives. The self-life is so entwined around the life of God within us that it requires great travail in order for self to loosen its grip.

When I think of individuals who have experienced great travail, Job comes to mind.

Imagine what it would be like to be richly blessed as Job was and have it all taken away? First his oxen and asses are stolen and his servants murdered. The only survivor is telling him what happened when someone else approaches Job to inform him that fire fell from heaven and burned up his sheep and the servants who were taking care of them. Before that individual finishes delivering the bad news another messenger arrives. He informs Job that the Chaldeans took his camels and slayed more of his servants. Amazingly, before this messenger finishes another one arrives and tells Job that his seven sons and three daughters were killed when a great wind caused the house they were in to collapse. When it looked like it could get no worse Job’s body becomes covered with painful boils. The situation was so bleak that his wife tells him to curse God and die. Job responds to his wife’s comment with this remark: “WHAT? SHALL WE RECEIVE GOOD AT THE HAND OF GOD, AND SHALL WE NOT RECEIVE EVIL?” Job 2:10

If someone were to ask me what is the most important truth for a Believer to grasp I would say it is this: All things were created by God and for Him and He causes all things to serve Him. The Apostle Paul said it this way: “For from him and through him and to him are all things.” Ro 11:36, NIV In Paul’s letter to the Colossians he wrote: “For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Col 1: 16-17, NIV In John’s revelation the Spirit of God said: “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” Rev 1:8

Most folks grasp the idea that all things began with God. Still others can also see that all things end in Him. But what we need to recognize is that everything in between is part of His plan too! Every season and time imaginable, both good and bad will ultimately serve His purpose. This is a non-negotiable truth, for He is the beginning and the end of all things! The travail and trouble given to mankind is for the purpose of humbling us and making us aware of our need for Him.

It is difficult to comprehend within the concept of a loving Creator that for every positive attribute we can imagine there is a corresponding negative that is revealed in the human struggle. We can easily accept that God has sanctioned a time to love, a time to heal and a time to laugh, while it is difficult to understand how a loving Creator could allow a time to hate, a time to slay and a time to weep. Though we may grapple with this conflict between good and evil it is paramount that we, like Job, come to receive all things as from the hands of God. Then instead of fighting the opposition in our lives we can ask God what it is that we can learn from it. Our focus shifts from what is wrong with everyone and everything, to what is in me that is out of alignment with the will and purpose of God? Contrary to what some may think, there is more responsibility in receiving all things from God then there is in blaming the devil or mankind, even though both the devil and mankind may be the instruments used.

Did you ever wonder why Jesus gave the twelve disciples power over the enemy (Lu 10:19) and then allowed Himself to be led as a lamb to the slaughter? It seems like a contradiction, yet this was the plan of God from the beginning. Jesus had a powerful ministry that astounded the crowds and caught the attention of both Rome and Jewish leaders. Friend and foe alike were looking for a lion. Instead He became a lamb.

Imagine how different things would have turned out if Jesus had used His authority and opposed those who came to arrest Him? He certainly had the right to do so and at least Peter thought He should. Otherwise, Peter would not have drawn his sword and sliced off the servant of the high priest’s ear. In order for Jesus to become the Lamb of God He had to lay down all power and authority. Jesus did not resist the travail of the cross. Like Job, He received all the hardship and suffering as coming from the Father. In so doing the travail He experienced revealed the divine nature that ruled within Him.

I have found that in the midst of our travail both the man of sin and the Christ are revealed. In God’s divine wisdom He has given us the hardships of this earthly life that serve to both expose this man of sin and to reveal the Christ in those who have been apprehended to become sons. This man of sin I am referring to is not the comic-book-like-villain that many expect to appear on the world scene. He is much more sinister for he is hidden within the heart of every man, both sinner and saint! The root of the problem with this man of sin is our desire for independence from God. The travail given to mankind exposes the roots of this desire along with those things in us that must be removed. At the same time the soil of our earth-bound-soul must be broken so that the life of God may emerge as a tender blade.

God knows what each of us need in every season of our life in order to experience more of Him. Sometimes it is revelation He gives to enlighten our understanding and lift us to new heights, while other times He may send a lying spirit in the mouth of the false prophets in order that the king-of-flesh may go to battle and be destroyed. (1Kings 22: 20-22)

We have long known that God desires to reveal Himself to us, but it may be a new thought to some to consider that in His plan He will allow a time of error in order to expose the man of sin in us. Like king Ahab, we sometimes have our mind made up and refuse to hear the word of the Lord. This is what opens the door to deception. It can also be what separates the called from the chosen, for while some will be humbled by their sin and repent, others will remain in deception. Some may argue that it is only the wicked that encounter a strong delusion, that they should believe a lie. (2 Thes 2:11) The son of perdition who resides in the heart of every man must be first exposed before he is taken out of the way. It is the brightness of the coming forth of Christ within us that dispels the darkness and death brought about by all our self-efforts to achieve god status apart from reconciliation with our Creator.

Adam continues to reach for the tree of life with the hope and desire to be as God, but it is impossible for the natural man to partake of the life of the Spirit. So the angel with the flaming sword continues to prevent the natural man from feeding from the tree of life. “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Ro. 8:7

The inventions of the-man-of-sin continue as he seeks an alternative route to embracing the divine life, other than the cross. It does not matter whether we are a babe in Christ, or a seasoned veteran who has already overcome many of the struggles of this earthly life. I have seen the various rabbit trails trodden by many brethren and have been on a few myself over a thirty year span. I realize that God allows these alternative paths as a means to keep Adam out of the garden. The act of being drawn away by misrepresentations of the truth reveals that we are listening to the wrong voice. It is God’s method for revealing the man of sin in us who is bent on sitting on the throne of our hearts, pretending that he is God. This too is a part of the travail given to the sons of man to be humbled by it. Unfortunately, we are often unable to recognize what is transpiring until we become blind and stumble into the ditch. Sometimes we have to eat a little dirt before we are humbled enough to have our sight restored. Many folks remain in the ditch oblivious to their spiritual condition. But those who have been chosen, “having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,”(Eph 1:11) find themselves uncomfortable and sick if they remain in the ditch for too long. The seed of God within them begins to cry out for drop of water upon their dry and thirsty tongue.

While I believe that God raises up voices in the wilderness to proclaim His truth, I am also aware that He allows the voice of the stranger as a test for His sons. When we are tested there is a REVEALING of our spiritual condition. If there is something in us that is tempted by the voice of the stranger then it needs to be exposed before it is taken out of the way! The king of flesh must be allowed to go to the battle so that he is destroyed.

Desires of the Heart Often Bring Great Travail

Have you ever heard someone say they wish they had a million dollars? People buy lottery tickets every day with the hope and desire to win a large sum of money, but when they receive the desire of their heart is it really a blessing or does it bring travail?

Here is one man’s story of winning the lottery:

William “Bud” Post won $16.2 million in the Pennsylvania lottery in 1988 but now lives on his Social Security.

“I wish it never happened. It was totally a nightmare,” says Post.

A former girlfriend successfully sued him for a share of his winnings. It wasn’t his only lawsuit. A brother was arrested for hiring a hit man to kill him, hoping to inherit a share of the winnings. Other siblings pestered him until he agreed to invest in a car business and a restaurant in Sarasota, Fla., — two ventures that brought no money back and further strained his relationship with his siblings.

Post even spent time in jail for firing a gun over the head of a bill collector. Within a year, he was $1 million in debt.

Post admitted he was both careless and foolish, trying to please his family. He eventually declared bankruptcy.

Now he lives quietly on $450 a month and food stamps.

“I’m tired, I’m over 65 years old, and I just had a serious operation for a heart aneurysm. Lotteries don’t mean (anything) to me,” says Post. End of quote.

The Bible teaches that God will give us the desires of our heart. (Mark 11:23) But have you ever considered how often the desires of our heart draw us away from the will of God? Why would God give us something that draws us away from Him? It is the interplay of the will of man and the will of God that brings about an end to self-rule. Often the fulfillment of our desires becomes the catalyst that exposes the man of sin and brings about the humility necessary for the life of Christ life to emerge. If there is something other than Christ ruling in any area of our life there is no better way to be set free than for God to turn us over to our hearts desire. This is the travail given to the sons of man to be humbled by it.

There are seasons and times that we experience individually and there are seasons and times experienced by nations that are unfolded throughout the ages. The Holy Spirit is opening our understanding so we can see how all the seasons and ages work together to accomplish His purposes. We know that our beginning was in Him. Let us be encouraged to know that He will cause all the seasons and times throughout the ages to come together in a way that will glorify His name and will exalt the Father to the place of being all in all.

Douglas B. Clark