It sometimes takes patience to find out the real purpose of a problem. Like the eaglet, many babes in Christ are not quick to find out the purpose for the pain. This prolongs the duration within which the lesson should be learnt thereby prolonging the problem. I worked for seven years at the University of Port Harcourt without the confirmation of my appointment. Lecturers were usually interviewed and confirmed after a year of their employment.
I joined the institution in 1987 with an M.A. and acquired a Ph.D in 1989. Yet until I resigned in 1994 my appointment was neither confirmed nor was I paid a kobo as a Ph.D. holder. I prayed, I fasted and waited. But I was more concerned with my confirmation and the payment of my arrears than with what God was saying. Only in 1993 did I clearly recognize the full-time call of God on my life. God used the problem of my confirmation to teach me his eternal purpose. I resigned on the 29th of February and my arrears in salary was approved on the 9th of March. I ploughed back the whole money into the High Calling Outreach, our Christian Literature Ministry. Everything worked together for good. I built my throne with my thorns.
Every eaglet that patiently passes through the experience of thorns eventually earns the right to train other eaglets, when it becomes a full-fledged eagle. Are you fainting because of problems? Are the thorns becoming too sharp for you? Well, “If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small” (Proverbs 24:10). Adversity is meant to toughen you and prepare you for leadership. A thorn was given to Apostle Paul. He sought God to help him remove it three times. But God said no, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
God will not remove your adversity when you have not learnt the lesson for which it was allowed. The eaglets do not immediately recognize the purpose for which their mother is stirring their nest. However, when the nest becomes too uncomfortable for them, they tumble out into the open. The first feel of mountain air outside the nest is always harsh. The artificial temperature of the cozy nest is not the same as the reality of the true weather. Their feathers are yet to be fully formed. They are therefore flapping their tender wings in protest.
This is the story of the church today. We have become so familiar with the cozy atmosphere of the church building that we are no longer desirous of going into the world to make disciples of all nations. Sometimes the thorns of “persecution” and church politics push us out of our familiar environment. Rather than realizing that God is merely sending us into the mission field we stand still moaning and flapping the wings of protest.
Take a new look at your problems and the bruises they have left on you. Realize that “God uses life’s bruises”. He can use your pain to glorify his name. Have a proper perspective of your problems. Turn your thorns into thrones and you will fly like the eagle.
