重庆艺考画室班级:标杆人生 第25天　苦难使我们蜕变

25

Transformed by Trouble

第二十五天　苦难使我们蜕变

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

2 Corinthians 4:17 (N l v)

我们这至暂至轻的苦楚

 要为我们成就极重无比、永远的荣耀。

 (哥林多后书四章17节

It is the fire of suffering that brings forth the gold of godliness. Madame Guyon

神性的光辉是由苦楚的火焰中提炼出来的。

——盖恩夫人(Madam Guyon)

God has a purpose behind every problem.

每个困难后面都有神的目的。

He uses circumstances to develop our character. In fact, he depends more on circumstances to make us like Jesus than he depends on our reading the Bible. The reason is obvious: You face circumstances twenty-four hours a day.

神用环境来塑造我们的品格。事实上，它用环境多于透过我们的读经使我们像耶稣；明显的理由是：你一天廿四小时都面对不同的环境。

Jesus warned us that we would have problems in the world.' No one is immune to pain or insulated from suffering, and no one gets to skate through life problem-free. Life is a series of problems. Every time you solve one, another is waiting to take its place. Not all of them are big, but all are significant in God's growth process for you. Peter assures us that problems are normal, saying, "Don't be bewildered or surprised when you go through the fiery trials ahead, for this is no strange, unusual thing that is going to happen to you."

耶稣警告我们，在世上我们会有困境难题，无人能免于苦痛，或与受苦隔绝，没有人能一帆风顺过一生。人生本就是一连串的困难；你刚解决了一桩，另一桩又会接踵而来。虽然不一定都是大麻烦，但都是神帮助你成长的重要环节。彼得向我们保证困难是正常的，他说：「那如火一般的熬炼临到你们的时候，不要惊奇惧怕，以为发生了什么非常的事。」

God uses problems to draw you closer to himself. The Bible says, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those who are crushed in spirit." Your most profound and intimate experiences of worship will likely be in your darkest days-when your heart is broken, when you feel abandoned, when you're out of options, when the pain is great-and you turn to God alone. It is during suffering that we learn to pray our most authentic, heartfelt, honest-to-God prayers.



When we're in pain, we don't have the energy for superficial prayers.

神用困难使你更亲近他，圣经说：「耶和华靠近伤心的人，拯救灵性痛悔的人。」你最深沈热烈的敬拜经历可能就是在人生最黑暗的时刻——当你心碎，觉得被弃，走投无路，最痛之时——你只有转向神。总是在受苦当中，我们学会最诚实、真挚向神的祷告。在苦楚中，我们没有精力做华而不实的祈祷

Joni Eareckson Tada notes, "When life is rosy, we may slide by with knowing about Jesus, with imitating him and quoting him and speaking of him. But only in suffering will we know Jesus." We learn things about God in suffering that we can't learn any other way.

玖尼(Joni EarecksonTada)说：「人生繁花似锦时，我们轻滑过人生岁月，错过认识耶稣、效法他，引述他、谈论他；但惟有在受苦当中，我们才真正认识耶稣。」在受苦中，我们所学到关于神的事是无法由其他途径学到的。

God could have kept Joseph out of jail, kept Daniel out of the lion's den, kept Jeremiah from being tossed into a slimy pit, kept Paul from being shipwrecked three times, and kept the three Hebrew young men from being thrown into the blazing furnace-but he didn't. He let those problems happen, and every one of those persons was drawn closer to God as a result.

神绝对能使约瑟免于牢狱之灾，助但以理脱离狮子坑、免耶利米陷在淤泥中、让保罗避过三次沉船之难，并叫三个希伯来青年不被抛入烈火洪炉中。但他让这些苦难发生，结果这些人都因而更亲近神。

Problems force us to look to God and depend on him instead of ourselves. Paul testified to this benefit: "We felt we were doomed to die and saw how powerless we were to help ourselves; but that was good, for then we put everything into the hands of God, who alone could save us." You'll never know that God is all you need until God is all you've got.

苦难迫使我们转向神，倚靠他，不靠自己。保罗为此见证说：「深知靠自己力量，绝对不能解决困难，必死无疑，因此我们就不再倚靠自己，只仰望那位能使死人复活的上帝。」当你仅有神的时候，你才知道他是你惟一所需。

Regardless of the cause, none of your problems could happen without God's permission. Everything that happens to a child of God is Father filtered, and he intends to use it for good even when Satan and others mean it for bad.

不管你的困难是由什么引起的，没有神的许可，它们都不会发生。每一件发生在神儿女身上的事情都经过父神过滤，即使撒但以及其他的人企图毁坏，他却刻意使用来使你得益。

Because God is sovereignly in control, accidents are just incidents in God's good plan for you. Because every day of your life was written on God's calendar before you were born, everything that happens to you has spiritual significance. Everything! Romans 8:28-29 explains why: "We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son."

因为神有最高主权，意外事件只是神对你的计划当中的一件事罢了。因为在你还未出生前，神已把你在世的每一日写在他的日历上。发生在你身上的每一件事，都有重要的属灵意涵。罗马书解释说：「我们晓得(神使)万事都互相效力，叫爱神的人得益处，就是按他旨意被召的人。因为他预先所知道的人，就预先定下效法他儿子的模样......。」

UNDERSTANDING ROMANS 8:28-29

明白罗马书八章28-29节

This is one of the most misquoted and misunderstood passages in the Bible. It doesn't say, "God causes everything to work out the way I want it to." Obviously that's not true. It also doesn't say, "God causes everything to work out to have a happy ending on earth." That is not true either. There are many unhappy endings on earth.

这是圣经中最常被误解和滥用的章节之一。他并非说：「神使万事按照我的意思进行」，显然事实并非如此；它亦没说：「神使万事在地上有一个快乐的结局」，因为人生在世本就有许多不如意的结局

We live in a fallen world. Only in heaven is everything done perfectly the way God intends. That is why we are told to pray, "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." To fully understand Romans 8:28-29 you must consider it phrase by phrase.

我们活在一个堕落的世界，只有在天堂才会万事如神预定般完美。这就是为什么我们被教导要祷告说：「愿你的旨意行在地上，如同行在天上。」要完全明白罗马书八章28-29节，你必须逐句细读。

"We know": Our hope in difficult times is not based on positive thinking, wishful thinking, or natural optimism. It is a certainty based on the truths that God is in complete control of our universe and that he loves us.

「我们晓得」：在困难的时刻，我们的希望并不是建立在积极思想或乐观的想法上，而是建立在神掌管宇宙万物以及神爱我们的真理上。

"that God causes": There's a Grand Designer behind everything. Your life is not a result of random chance, fate, or luck. There is a master plan. History is His story. God is pulling the strings. We make mistakes, but God never does. God cannot make a mistake-because he is God.

「神使」：万事万物后面有一位伟大的设计者。你的生命绝非出于偶然、机缘、命运或运气，而是一个总体计划。英文「历史」(History)一字拆开来，就是他的故事(His storY)。一切都是神安排布置好的。我们会犯错，神却永远不会。神不可能犯错，因为他是神

"everything": God's plan for your life involves all that happens to you-including your mistakes, your sins, and your hurts. It includes illness, debt, disasters, divorce, and death of loved ones. God can bring good out of the worst evil. He did at Calvary.

「万事」：神对你生命的计划包括了你生命中的一切，包括你的错误，你的罪以及你的伤痛。万事还包括疾病、债务、灾祸，离婚以及所爱的人过世。神可以使一切祸患变成祝福，正如他在加略山所成就的。

Everything that happens to you has spiritual significance.

"to work together": Not separately or independently. The events in your life work together in God's plan. They are not isolated acts, but interdependent parts of the process to make you like Christ. To bake a cake you must use flour, salt, raw eggs, sugar, and oil. Eaten individually, each is pretty distasteful or even bitter. But bake them together and they become delicious. If you will give God all your distasteful, unpleasant experiences, he will blend them together for good.

「互相效力」：不是个别独立运作。你生命中的每一件事在神的计划中互相效力，它们不是个别行动，乃是在整个过程当中彼此依存，使我们更像基督。烤蛋糕需用面粉、鸡蛋、糖和油，假若分别品尝，这些材料的味道实在难以下咽。但混合在一起烤时却变得美味无穷。你若愿意向神倾出你各样难以下咽的苦痛经历，他必把这一切化为甘甜美好

"for the good": This does not say that everything in life is good. Much of what happens in our world is evil and bad, but God specializes in bringing good out of it. In the official family tree of Jesus Christ, four women are listed: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba. Tamar seduced her father-in-law to get pregnant. Rahab was a prostitute. Ruth was not even Jewish and broke the law by marrying a Jewish man. Bathsheba committed adultery with David, which resulted in her husband's murder. These were not exactly sterling reputations, but God brought good out of bad, and Jesus came through their lineage. God's purpose is greater than our problems, our pain, and even our sin.

「得益处」：这并不是说人生中万事都美好。现实世界充满败坏。但是，神最擅长从中带出美善来。在耶稣基督的族谱中，提到四位妇女：他玛，喇合、路得和别示巴。他玛引诱她的公公而受孕；喇合是一名妓女；路得是外邦人，却犯了律法，嫁给犹太人：别示巴与大卫通奸，害她丈夫被谋杀。神能化腐朽为神奇，让这些名誉扫地的人成为耶稣的先祖。神的旨意远比我们的问题、痛苦甚至罪过还要大。

"of those who love God and are called": This promise is only for God's children. It is not for everyone. All things work for bad for those living in opposition to God and insist on having their own way.

「爱神的、被呼召的人」：这应许只给神的儿女，不是给所有的人。与神为敌，随心所欲生活的人，万事互相作用，令这些人收取败坏。

"according to his purpose": What is that purpose? It is that we "become like his Son."

Everything God allows to happen in your life is permitted for that purpose!

「按他旨意」：他的目的是什么？就是要我们「成为他的儿子的样式......」，你生命中所发生的一切，都是神所容许的，为要成就他的目的。

Your most profound and intimate experiences of worship will likely be in your darkest days.

BUILDING CHRISTLIKE CHARACTER

建立像基督的品格

We are like jewels, shaped with the hammer and chisel of adversity. If a jeweler's hammer isn't strong enough to chip off our rough edges, God will use a sledgehammer. If we're really stubborn, he uses a jackhammer. He will use whatever it takes.

我们有如宝石，需要经过苦难的锤凿来雕琢。若首饰匠的细锤无法除去我们的棱角，神便动用大锤。如我们仍冥顽不灵，他就会使用电钻了。他会用尽一切方法。

Every problem is a character-building opportunity, and the more difficult it is, the greater the potential for building spiritual muscle and moral fiber. Paul said, "We know that these troubles produce patience. And patience produces character." What happens outwardly in your life is not as important as what happens inside you. Your circumstances are temporary, but your character will last forever.

每个难题都是造就品格的机会，难度愈高，就愈有潜力建立强壮的灵命和道德思想。保罗说：「我们知道患难生忍耐，忍耐生品格......。」你的人生中，外面发生的事情还不及在你内心发生的事重要。环境只是暂时的，品格却存到永远。

The Bible often compares trials to a metal refiner's fire that burns away the impurities. Peter said, "These troubles come to prove that your faith is pure. This purity of faith is worth more than gold." A silversmith was asked, "How do you know when the silver is pure?" He replied, "When I see my reflection in it." When you've been refined by trials, people can see Jesus' reflection in you. James said, "Under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true

colors.”

圣经常用金匠炼净杂质的炉火来比喻考验。彼得说：「百般的试炼可使你的信心更纯净。纯净的信心比金子还可贵......。」有人问一位银匠：「你怎么知道银要炼到何时才算纯净呢？」他回答：「当我看到自己的倒影时。」当你被试验熬炼纯净，人们便能从你身上看到耶稣的倒影。雅各说：「在重压之下，你的信心生活被迫无所遁形。」

Since God intends to make you like Jesus, he will take you through the same experiences Jesus went through. That includes loneliness, temptation, stress, criticism, rejection, and many other problems. The Bible says Jesus "learned obedience through suffering" and "was made perfect through suffering." Why would God exempt us from what he allowed his own Son to experience? Paul said, "We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we're certainly going to go through the good times with him!"

神要我们像耶稣，他会带你经历耶稣所经历的，包括孤寂、诱惑、压力，批评、拒绝及其他问题。圣经说耶稣「从受苦中学习顺服」并且「从受苦中得完全」，若神容许他的儿子经历这一切，我们又为什么可以免于这样的经历呢？保罗说：「我们要经历基督的道路。如果我们和他一同受苦，便会与他一同得荣耀。」



RESPONDING TO PROBLEMS AS JESUS WOULD

如同耶稣一般的回应难处

Problems don't automatically produce what God intends. Many people become bitter, rather than better, and never grow up. You have to respond the way Jesus would.

苦难不会自动成就神的目的。很多人不但没有因苦难而成长，反而变得苦毒。因此，你必须像耶稣一般的回应难处。

Remember that God's plan is good.

要记得神的计划总是美好的

God knows what is best for you and has your best interests at heart. God told Jeremiah, "The plans I have for you fare] plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Joseph understood this truth when he told his brothers who had sold him into slavery, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good." Hezekiah echoed the same sentiment about his life-threatening illness: "It was for my own good that I had such hard times. Whenever God says no to your request for relief, remember, "God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God's holy best.'

神为你著想，并且知道什么对你是最好的。神对耶利米说：「我知道我向你们所订的计划是要使你昌盛，不是要降灾祸于你，这个计划使你有希望，有将来。」约瑟明白这个道理，所以对把卖他去为奴的兄弟说：「从前你们的意思是要害我，但神的意思原是好的。」希西家对于他那危及生命的疾病，感伤的说道：「这样困苦的时刻乃是为我的好处。」每当神对你祈求解脱的祷告说「不」时，「神乃是在做为要我们得益处的事，训练我们过圣洁的生活。」

what happens outwardly in your life is not as important as what happens inside you.

It is vital that you stay focused on God's plan, not your pain or problem. That is how Jesus endured the pain of the cross, and we are urged to follow his example: "Keep your eyes on Jesus, our leader and instructor. He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterwards." Corrie ten Boom, who suffered in a Nazi death camp, explained the power of focus: "If you look at the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. But if you look at Christ, you'll be at rest!" Your focus will determine your feelings. The secret of endurance is to remember that your pain is temporary but your reward will be eternal. Moses endured a life of problems "because he was looking ahead to his reward." Paul endured hardship the same way. He said, "Our present troubles are quite small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever!"

专注于神的计划是很重要的，不要专注在自己的痛苦或问题上。这就是为什么耶稣能够忍受十字架的痛苦的原因，这也正是我们被劝促跟随的榜样；「定晴注视为我们的信心创始成终的耶稣。他为了摆在前面的喜乐，就轻看羞辱，忍受了十字架的痛苦。」曾在纳粹党死囚营内受苦的彭柯丽(Corrie Ten Boom)解释这种专注的力量说：「定睛于世界，你便会失望；注视内心，便会沮丧；但若仰望基督，你就可得安息！」你所专注的会决定你的感觉。忍耐的秘诀是谨记你的痛苦是短暂的，而奖赏则是永远的。摩西忍受一生的困苦，「因他想望所要得的赏赐。」保罗同样地忍受苦楚，他说：「我们这至暂至轻的苦楚，要为我们成说极重无比、永远的荣耀。」

Don't give in to short-term thinking. Stay focused on the end result: "If we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. What we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will give us later.”

不要屈服于目前的想法，要注目于最后的结果：「如要与他同享荣耀便要与他一同受苦。然而两者比较起来，那苦楚便不足介意了。」

Rejoice and give thanks.

喜乐与谢恩

The Bible tells us to `give thanks in all circumstances, for this is

God's will for you in Christ Jesus. " How is this possible? Notice that God tells us to give thanks "in all circumstances" not "for all circumstances." God doesn't expect you to be thankful for evil, for sin, for suffering, or for their painful consequences in the world. Instead, God wants you to thank him that he will use your problems to fulfill his purposes.

圣经告诉我们：「在一切的景况当中谢恩，因为这是神在基督耶稣里向你们所定的旨意。」怎能如此？请留意，神要我们在一切的景况当中谢恩，而不是为一切的景况谢恩。神并不期待你为邪恶，为罪，为受苦，或为它们带来的结局而感恩；神只要你感谢他利用各样的难题，来成就他的目的

The Bible says, "Rejoice in the Lord always." It doesn't say, "Rejoice over your pain." That's masochism. You rejoice "in the Lord." No matter what's happening, you can rejoice in God's love, care, wisdom, power, and faithfulness. Jesus said, `Be full of joy at that time, because you have a great reward waiting for you in heaven."

圣经说：「要常常在主里喜乐。」并没说：「为你的苦痛喜乐。」那是被虐狂。你在主里喜乐，无论发生什么事，你都可以在神的爱中、看顾中、智慧中、能力中以及信实当中喜乐。耶稣说：「到那时你们要充满喜乐，因为天上有大赏赐正在等候你。」

We can also rejoice in knowing that God is going through the pain with us. We do not serve a distant and detached God who spouts encouraging cliches safely from the sideline. Instead, he enters into our suffering. Jesus did it in the Incarnation, and his Spirit does it in us now. God will never leave us on our own.

我们也可以因着神与我们同经痛苦而喜乐。我们并不是服事一位疏通、只在边线上喊些陈腐的慰藉之词的神。我们的神乃是进入我们的受苦当中。耶稣以道成肉身的方式来表达，他的灵此刻便与我们同在，他永不离弃我们。

Refuse to give up.

拒绝放弃

Be patient and persistent. The Bible says, "Let the process go on until your endurance is fully developed, and you will find that you have become men of mature character ... with no weak spots.'

要忍耐坚持。圣经说：「......让这个过程继续下去，直到你的忍耐建立完全，你会发现你成了品格成熟的人......毫无软弱的瑕疵。」

Character building is a slow process. Whenever we try to avoid or escape the difficulties in life, we short-circuit the process, delay our growth, and actually end up with a worse kind of pain-the worthless type that accompanies denial and avoidance. When you grasp the eternal consequences of your character development, you'll pray fewer "Comfort me' prayers ("Help me feel good") and more "Conform me" prayers ("Use this to make me more like you").

品格的建立是缓慢的过程。每当我们尝试逃避人生的困难时，便会阻碍进度、延缓我们的成长，结果却陷入最大的痛苦中——那伴随着否认和逃避的痛苦。当你领悟到品格成长所带来的永恒结果时，便会减少向神求「安慰我吧」(令我感觉好一些)；而会多求「使我顺服」(使我更像你)

You know you are maturing when you begin to see the hand of God in the random, baffling, and seemingly pointless circumstances of life.

当你开始看见神的手在杂乱无章、千篇一律、漫无目标的生活中带领你的时候，你便知道自己正日趋成熟。

If you are facing trouble right now, don't ask, "Why me?" Instead ask, "What do you want me to learn?" Then trust God and keep on doing what's right. "You need to stick it out, staying with God's plan so you'll be there for the promised completion." Don't give up-grow up!

假如你正在面对难处，不要问，「为什么是我？」反而要问：「你要学习什么功课？」然后信靠神，并继续做你应该做的。「你们还需要忍耐，好使你们行完了神的旨意，可以领受所应许的。」不要放弃，努力成长吧！

DAY TWENTY-FIVE THINKING ABOUT MY PURPOSE

第25天　我的人生目的省思

Point to Ponder: There is a purpose behind every problem.

思想要点：每个困难的后面都有一个目的。

Verse to Remember: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans

8:28 (NIV)

背记经文：「我们晓得万事都互相效力，叫爱神的人得益处，就是按他旨意被召的人。」(罗马书八章28节)

Question to Consider: What problem in my life has caused the greatest growth in me?

思考问题：什么困难让我的生命成长最多？