“Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him…”  Job 13:15

Job was a picture of Christ in His sufferings. It = is a picture that many Christians try their best to circumvent in their = Christian walk, and, as a result, is one of the most misunderstood and ignored = aspects of the path that is set before us as true, converted Christians.  But = it is the compass that points us to Cross.

Three universal themes of Christianity pour forth = from this picture: brokenness, suffering, and trust -- all themes that are impossible to fully grasp without a crucified walk in = God.

At church the other day, the meaning of what a = crucified walk was presented as the refusal of sin.  But the idea of being = crucified with Christ encompasses so much more than that.  It is not merely the = refusal to allow oneself to fall to temptation, but the severing of our hearts and = souls from the perspective of this world and all it’s desires, and to = reach forth into the realm of God’s holiness to walk in His = Spirit.  There is a change in our point of view to deny oneself of being led by what we = want, and to surrender to another master other than ourselves.

Everyone wants to walk in the Spirit, but there = is a price to pay.  It is not accomplished through work, or edification; it = doesn’t come through our own efforts, accomplishments, or victories; neither = does it reveal itself through seeking wisdom by reading someone else’s = books.  It comes through surrender.

Only when we give up trying to reach God by = building our own Tower of Babel, and finally acknowledge that, no matter how hard we = try, we will never come to that place in God where He, and only He, is in = complete and total control of our lives.  We read books, do good works, force = ourselves to witness, pay money into worthy ministries, and try our hardest to be = good Christians worthy of His Love.  But all those, while they may be = wonderful things, will not bring us into the presence of His righteousness.  = No, you have to be broken before you can be used of God.  It will not be your = works in God that justifies you, but allowing Him to do His works in = you.

To come to that place, you first have to admit = defeat.  Only then can you ever understand the power of the sufferings of the = Cross.  The world (and worldly Christianity) can never understand that.  It = is not that we suffer because He suffered first for us, but rather that we are = issued into the glory of the Cross by allowing the sufferings of our faith to = separate us from this world and all that it entices us with.

The separation of flesh from Spirit opens our = eyes to see things in a totally different light.  Becoming a Christian is not = like joining some club, a member of some Church, but rather we now see as God sees = because our eyes no longer look through a worldly lens.  We are different = because we see differently, our desires are no longer our own, and the comfort of = our lives is no longer our goal.

Once you are broken to that extent, the = sufferings of the Body of Christ become the joy of your existence.  It no longer = matters what happens to you, because your life is invested in Him alone.  Is = there pain? Are there insurmountable problems and destruction that you are going = through?  Have you lost everything?  It no longer matters.  You are in that = secret place of the Most High, your life is in His hands, and you rest in the knowledge = that it is part of His plan for your life.

It takes brokenness to allow us to be willing to = suffer for His name’s sake.

Whenever I preach, I try to bring forth this one = point that encompasses the essence of Salvation: the Gospel of Jesus Christ is = not about you; it is about others.  Always others.  It is the = message of the Cross, the cornerstone of Christianity upon which all else is built.  Get = this wrong, and you will never understand the Cross, nor the sufferings of the Body = of Christ.

Only once you are broken, can you truly trust = God. You can trust Him through the valleys, through sickness, through destruction, = through the loss of all things, even through death, because it is no longer = about you, but about the Plan of God.  You are broken; your sufferings have = extracted you from your fleshly desires, and you are now only an instrument for His = glory, and He will direct your paths.

Then you will understand what a crucified walk in = God really is.

Brother Dale