Stripped: Trusting God When He Allows Others to Hurt YouSample

The Lord guides us through Scripture on clothing ourselves in the meantime. My inner attorney wants to object, “Why do I need to pay attention to how I clothe myself? Why bother?”

Let’s consider who wrote the instructions we are about to dig into: the apostle Paul. Sigh. If you are familiar with the New Testament, you know where this is going. What does Paul know about suffering, right? (see 2 Corinthians 11:23b-27 NIV).

Essentially, Paul is not the guy you want to compare scars with at a campfire; he’s the ultimate one-upper. He pretty much covered all bases of potential suffering places with the exception of outer space. If you do the math, he was whipped 195 times, which means his back was covered in scars, in addition to scars and aches on the rest of his body from beatings and stonings (he was left for dead after one stoning). Harmed not only at the hands of Gentiles, but by fellow Jews—his own people.

If anyone had reasons to shake a fist at heaven, question God’s sovereignty and protection, and quit everything, it was Paul. His calling was prefaced by the revelation that God would “...show him how much he must suffer for my name” (Acts 9:16 CSB). But he counted it a blessing to suffer for the sake of the gospel.

While imprisoned, he wrote several of the New Testament books that address Christian living. His influence in the Kingdom surpassed his generation and impacted billions of people and our world, and he is credited with writing nearly half of the books in the New Testament (13 out of 27). I think we can agree there was a redemptive aspect for the temporary troubles he endured.

I am more willing to receive Paul’s instructions because the Holy Spirit gave him these truths so that thousands of years later, they would be a light for us. In his letter to the Romans, Paul says:

“... So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh” (Romans 13:12b-14, NIV).

These verses describe how engaging in deeds of darkness distances us from Him. If we had no hope of redemption, it’s only natural to practice such things. However, Paul tells us to put those deeds aside and instead put on the armor of light and clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ.

He is exhorting us to clothe ourselves with the character of Christ. It’s an invitation to imitate Jesus and to live in a way that resembles His walk. Jesus told his disciples “…learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:29-30, NIV).

If you want rest for your soul amidst pain and trouble, clothe yourself with the character of Jesus. Draw closer to Him, not farther from Him. Read His words, learn from the way He lived, treated His enemies, loved others, responded to injustice, and served humbly even though He deserved to be served.

Learn to forgive like He forgives, to trust our Heavenly Father like He did, to have a compassionate heart like His. We are able to rise above what is done to us and find freedom to let go of anger, pain, and the bitterness and sorrow of our past only when we abide in Him.

It may also involve and require counseling, therapy, or even medication to help us move forward, but we must combine that with the freedom that comes from surrendering our brokenness to the God who can redeem it for His purposes, for His glory, and for our good. If we are purposeful to dress with kindness, we won’t have space to harbor anger. If we choose forgiveness, we can’t also hold on to desires for vengeance, we leave that to God. We only add hurt to hurt if we hold on to pain and arguments.

It can be uncomfortable to let go of things we have in our wardrobe: the anger and resentment towards those who hurt us, the veil of bitterness, the cloak of despair, the choker of revenge, etc. However, as we rid ourselves of those garments, we are better able to:

“… clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” (Colossians 3:12b-14, NIV).

Paul gives us examples of Christ’s character in this passage. He describes our Lord’s nature and gives us the best makeover advice we could ever receive. But there’s a catch: no one can force us to apply his exhortation, it has to be our decision. Sometimes, I don’t want to put in the work. I want to turn on auto-pilot and hope for a safe landing. But when I don’t have a proactive response to God’s invitation for doing things His way, I “open the gates to my city.” In other words, I leave the door wide open for the enemy, myself, and others to wreak further havoc. The wisdom of Scripture applied guards our heart and soul, even when under physical, emotional, or spiritual duress.

In the meantime, we must keep our eyes fixed on Him. The meantime is crucial for our destiny and healing, and in preparing us for future trials. I know it is easier said than done, believe me, writing about these things at times felt like undergoing surgery without anesthesia. But we are edging closer to the point in Joseph’s story where he finally gets the answer to his “Why?”

This story is far from over and there is still much to unpack, but the truth is not everyone gets to move beyond the meantime here on earth. Some stripping leads to physical death, and my heart goes out to you if there has been death involved in your story. I pray for comfort from the Holy Spirit and peace that surpasses all understanding.

Not all of us will have a fantastical narrative that changes the course of history, like Joseph did. But for everyone who believes and decides to trust Jesus even when they can’t comprehend all the pieces of the story, there is a bigger promise and a brighter destiny than we could ever imagine.

To meditate:

• Has there been any voluntary stripping in your story? Has it delayed your plans?
• How are you managing time in the delays?
• If you look in your “life closet,” what do you find? What are you wearing? Are there things you need to eliminate from your wardrobe?
• Which of Paul’s garments do you need to work on? (gentleness, patience, etc.)