Practical Application

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight."
Proverbs 3:5,6

Just as you do not know the path of the wind and how bones are formed in the womb of the pregnant woman, so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things.
So, remove grief and anger from your heart and put away pain from your body, because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting.
Ecclesiastes 11:5, 10

"Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel,
"My way is hidden from the Lord,
And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God"? Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary,
And to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly, Yet those who wait for the Lord
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary."
Isaiah 40:27-31

Scholars often live in a purely academic world, where theories are hypothesized, taught, and expounded, and the theories/teaching never get to be put to the test of real-life practical application. As Christians we find ourselves in a living laboratory...the teachings and promises of the Lord Jesus, and the Words of life contained in our Owner's Manuals will be put to the test in each of our lives without exemption, and we will be heated, shaken, stirred-refined. We are often unprepared for these tests, so how do we respond when outcomes don't line up with what we were expecting? When healings don't come, when evil people prosper while the godly suffer, when our idea of justice differs from what the actual result of a situation? It can be difficult being the "clay" when we are being shaped and handled in uncomfortable ways.
It needs to be an act of our will to thank Him in the midst or various trial; He is no less worthy, whether in good circumstances or difficulties, no... He is always worthy and deserving of our praise. We have access to the oil of gladness and the balm of Gilead, and much more...they are in our spiritual medicine cabinet, we need only to take hold of them.
Today I choose to appropriate these things and more. Our Abba is no less mighty, no less capable, no less aware, but He is stretching us, purifying us, with the least amount of pain, but there will be pain, that's guaranteed.
The Maker's ways and thoughts are much higher than ours; in what will be like the blink of an eye we will be standing before Him and we will see the whole picture, not just looking into a mirror dimly.
Trust Him always, do not waver, beloved, lean not on your understanding, for the Lord is good.
All the time.