Others see God in Us.
When we hide our weaknesses, we think we look more godly; we actually hide God from others. Satan, pride of the flesh, and false teaching demand we hide our flaws and act stronger than we are, but then we don’t ask God and others for help. Yet when we admit we are weak and allow God to strengthen us, and others to comfort us, people see God in us. People don’t see God in our fleshly, self sufficiency, because “the flesh profits nothing,” (John 6:63) meaning that our flesh has no power to help ourselves or others.
When we humble ourselves and admit we are hurting, scared, confused, angry, weak, and in any other way in-need, we welcome God to help us (and other people when appropriate.) When others see we are still joyful, despite our problems, they realize we are empowered by something outside ourselves. Believers know God is strengthening us, and their faith is strengthened when they see God working in our lives. Unbelievers want to know the power behind that strength, and we may have a chance to share the Gospel.
Having joy in the midst of trials requires supernatural strength. But people can mistake our joy, despite trials, for common happiness, if we hide the trials we are going through. Even nonbelievers can have happiness when good things happen. Both words, “happy” and “happen” come from the Old Norse word “happ” meaning, “luck, chance, or fortune.” Both words alert us to the temporary nature of happiness and happenings. When good things no longer happen, “happy people” can become unhappy.
Yet once we find joy outside our happenings, we can remain joyful when bad things happen. When God provides it, our joy never goes away, due to his eternal nature. God has no beginning and no end (Psalm 90:2, “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.”) Thus our joy in God never needs to fade. Of course we might forget about God and worry and misplace our joy, but when we remember God’s goodness to us, we can find our joy again.
But having joy in God and then hiding our problems from people also hides God from others. They can easily assume we are simply happy, because our life is going well. It is only when we admit our life is not perfect, that others can remark about our joy.
A person with pain and troubles, who is still kind, patient, and joyful, contrasts with someone who seems happy, only because she has lead a charmed (easy, carefree) life. When hardship enters that charmed life, this same, formerly happy, person is now angry, impatient, even bitter. The contrast between the two people is stark. Now both types of people suffer, but the Christian still has joy.
Certainly we don’t burden every person we meet with all of our problems. We cannot tell much (or anything) to mean, dishonest, and unsafe people. But with many people, we can share some problems. For example, at a favorite store or cafe, the clerk who often rings up your purchase might notice you are very tired. You might feel comfortable admitting why. Yet if you still have joy, the clerk may ask you why you only seem physically tired but not dejected. You have shown that clerk Jesus. Now you get to tell that clerk the reason for your joy (1Peter3:15b, “And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.”)
Even if you are going through such an intense time that you don’t seem joyful, the clerk may ask you why you seem sad. You are not wrong for feeling and showing sorrow. For example, look at Nehemiah 2:2a, “Why is your face so sad when you are not ill. This can be nothing but sadness of heart.” A Pagan asked this of Nehemiah, and the King even offered to help godly Nehemiah. If, like godly Nehemiah, you are often joyful but now feel sad, your testimony is just as valid. For now you can share your godly sorrow over a legitimate concern. Remember, “Jesus wept,” (Luke 11:35), and his sorrow was pure. Christians become sad over matters that also grieve God, such as sickness or death of a loved one, or financial loss, personal illness and more.
When you admit you are sad or concerned about a deep problem, you show others that strong Christians still have sorrows and struggles. Yet when you speak with the hope and trust that shows you still love God, even when you don’t understand why you are going through something so hard, you point to God. You let others see that not just unbelievers, but also Christians suffer. God is not targeting unbelievers to inflict problems upon them.
You are also showing people that God can be trusted, even when bad things happen. Unbelievers (and struggling Christians) can see that you haven’t lost your faith, because you believe in The God who is stronger than your problems. Your hope, even in the midst of your sorrow, anger, confusion and other strong emotions, points to the character of God. He is trustworthy, hence your hope.
God is good, strong, faithful, trustworthy, kind, loving, and all the other good virtues, whether or not we have joy and hope. But when we reflect our joy and hope in the midst of the trials that we admit we have, we help others see these qualities of God. Until they read the Bible for themselves, unbelievers only know about God from “reading” our lives. We are the unspoken Gospel to many people who watch us.
And when God gives us permission to speak to those people, (by their receptiveness to our talking to them or even their approaching us to ask us) we get to share the Gospel them. Even with fellow believers, we help reinforce their faith when they learn we are struggling with a trial, yet we still have joy and hope. Appropriately revealing our trials enables us to show God to others.
So when Satan, or your sinful flesh, or false teachers urge you to deny your problems and hide them from everyone, rebuke that lie. First tell God; then choose a safe person or people. And if your problem is socially acceptable to talk about, share it, as you feel comfortable (but only with those able or willing to listen.) For example, my best friend’s husband admitted to a clerk at a café he frequents, that he had suffered a heart attack. She and many people, including unbelievers, became open to this man’s testimony of faith. He could share about God with people who may have never listened to the Gospel before.
So when you humble yourself and admit you have struggles, you may be strengthening another believer’s faith or inspiring an unbeliever to seek the Lord. It is in our weakness that God shines the strongest (2 Cor. 12: 9b-10, “My grace is sufficient for you. For my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulty. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”) Let’s throw aside our shame about our weaknesses and embrace God’s provision in our weakness.
I cannot take all the credit for this post. Two wise women at my church’s Philippians Bible study inspired me to write this post after hearing their input. If you would like to share any of your ideas with me, please do. I love to learn from other women. I pray we have blessed you with this post. May the Lord bless you this week.