Page 48 - Christ in You - The Hope of Glory

rendering of this Greek word is “afflicted,” and it is fitting to translate it this way in the
verse quoted above. The way to life is an afflicted path.

II Timothy 3:12
And indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Yahshua will be persecuted.

There is no other way to mature a child of God than to subject them to distresses and
difficulties. Much sin is bound up in this flesh, and it is with the utmost difficulty that the
spiritual creation formed within us by the power of the Holy Spirit comes to a place of
ascendancy over the clamoring passions and desires of the flesh. Pride must be humbled.
Selfishness must be replaced with a total selflessness. Lust must be crucified. Hatred must
give way to love. Irritability must yield to patience. Fear must be conquered by faith and
peace.
We can only make the transformation from fleshly beings to spiritual as we are placed
in situations where our character is tried. We must be brought into a variety of
circumstances where the natural man will always respond with lust, fear, anger, and a host
of other unrighteous thoughts and actions. In each instance our Father, by His Holy Spirit,
urges us to arise as spiritual beings in His own image and put down the flesh in order to
manifest the glory of God’s character within us.
Some years ago I was brought to a particularly difficult trial. I was perplexed, and
grieved and discouraged, causing me to cry out to the Lord for some encouragement. At that
very moment He had a family member stick a prophetic word in my hand that they had just
received in their e-mail. It was a direct and explicit answer to my cry of anguish. This
prophetic word contained the following sentence.

And no matter what the circumstances look like, I am able to work My glory in
them, and to make you come forth into the calling and anointing that I have for
you.

As I looked at my trial I wondered very much how God’s glory could be manifest in it.
There was nothing that appeared glorious to me, for my trial was leading to my being
subjected to false accusations and unrighteous judgments resulting in condemnation. In my
shortsightedness, the only glory I could envision was for God to end the trial and vindicate
me before my detractors.
Since then I have come to understand that God is glorified whenever we manifest His
holy and righteous character in the midst of our trials. Although outwardly we may be
subjected to shame, God is glorified if we bear up under the trial patiently, crucifying the
flesh with its evil passions. When we are slandered and seek to conciliate, when we are
reviled and do not revile in return, when we are insulted and speak forth a blessing, then
Yahweh is glorified. The greatest glory we can bring to the Father is found in the moments
of our most extreme trials.

John 12:27-28
"Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, 'Father, save Me
from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Thy
name." There came therefore a voice out of heaven: "I have both glorified it,
and will glorify it again."