The Calm of God-Part 3: A God of Great Restraint

How much patience we show while enduring the trials of life is the marker which uncovers the true depth of our trust in God, a trust that is only developed through real relationship.  The speaking of great faith and trust in God is quite different from a life that manifests those traits in patience and restraint.  The outward manifestation always shows the reality of the inner condition.

Scripture’s call is for us to be like Jesus.  I John 2:6 is clear when it tells us that "whoever says he abides in Him (Jesus) ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”  Jesus walked in great faith and trust in God the Father; He walked full of love and compassion, and He walked in tremendous patience and restraint.  

As our Savior walked this earth, He was certainly not invited to be a part of the “good ole’ boys club” of the day.  Jesus walked outside the circles of influence within the modern and organized religion of His time, relentlessly pursued by the sarcasm and scorn of the Pharisees and Sadducees, the recognized standard bearers of the assault upon Christ.  He never lost a verbal confrontation with them, but He still showed great restraint.  He could have done much more than turn their tricky questions into teaching opportunities.  He could have simply ended their existence upon this earth with only a word.  

Christ’s greatest example of restraint would certainly be the time surrounding His crucifixion.  Being ridiculed, scourged, and nailed to a tree…  He could have ended that little charade of human strength at any moment, but, instead, He chose to endure it to completion.  Because of His great love for us, Jesus knew that sin must be dealt with, and He knew that His own body was the instrument of our redemption. His suffering of the trial of the cross was the road that He knew must be traveled, and His death, at the hands of those He came to redeem, must precede the ultimate victory of His resurrection.  God’s plan was flawless…but, God’s plan wasn’t easy, not even for His own Son.

This brings me to my point…  

Life is hard.  We are often set upon a path which leads us to a place where we fully recognize that we have no authority or control.  We must understand that these storms are purposed for us.  God alone knows the road that we must travel down, a road that leads to His perfect will.  Again, God’s plan is flawless, but it’s not always easy, and it’s not always painless.  

In our pursuit of God, or quite possibly His pursuit of us, we will experience purposed storms, we will be thoroughly tested, and we will most assuredly leave these interactions with scars.  It’s at the point of trial, as those scars are being formed, where our trust in God should lead us to an enduring patience and restraint.  
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If we really want to find the calm of God within the storms of life, we must show the purposed restraint of Christ.  We must trust through adversity, and we must allow that flawless plan of God to unfold before eyes that are focused on His sovereignty and not on our schemes to relieve the pressure of a painful situation through our own means.  

What must we endure to be within the will of God?  The Bible promises trials.  We’ve been warned.  We should be prepared.

James 1:2-8 tells us… 

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.  If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.  For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

The ESV uses the word “steadfastness” in this verse.  It simply means "dutifully firm and unwavering.”  I would add that it implies an aspect of “trusting restraint" in the plan and methods of God to move us from one level of relationship to another level, a level that is deeper and more profound.  The plan and methods of God may be painful at times, but they are flawless in every respect.  It’s hard to see that truth in the middle of the storm, but a relevant relationship with God should reveal to us His strength, which, in turn, should enable in us an unshakeable trust…even when we’re unsure of what He’s doing or where He’s taking us.  

The testing of our faith should be a catalyst for restraint, and, as stated in the verse above, in it’s full effect, that restraint (trusting and waiting on God) will leave us “perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”  But, so often, we must go through the storm to harvest these wonderful promises.

When the storms of life present themselves, we should possibly only pray for God to “present” Himself.  Instead of getting caught up in asking God to “fix it” our way, maybe we should just pray that we could have a recognition of God’s presence as the waves toss the boat?  And, our prayers to God should be from a heart that is doubtless and full of faith, even if it’s God’s will that the storm should continue for a season, as often it is.  

God isn’t “blowing our boat” in a random direction.  He’s driving it, often with hard winds and mighty waves, directly to a planned destination where we will have a sincere recognition of His will and sovereignty, and where we can see a profound and very clear depiction of His glory.  Sometimes we have to wait out the storm, trusting and restrained under the perfect protection of His might hand.

If we really want the calm of God in the middle of adversity, we should plan to exercise a trusting restraint, a manifestation of our real and growing relationship with a God who is willing to lead us far beyond the predetermined walls of our comfort zone, to find the glory of His will…a real glory that may only be found by us in situations where our feet can no longer touch the bottom.