I wrote this 18 years ago.

THROUGH THE RINGER


                               By

                          Phil Scovell



     Although I was born in 1952, I can still remember watching
Mom squeezing newly washed clothes through the hand cranked
ringer.   They pealed from the rollers flattened, squashed,
almost unrecognizable, and then hung out to dry.  Not much ever
survived the ringer except the clothes.  Hence the cliche:
"Through the ringer."

     Nearly everyone has faced impossible situations and
confessed:  "I've really been through the ringer."  We mean, of
course, we have been pressed, squeezed, pounded, flattened,
hammered, mashed, pressed, steam rolled, dumped on, squashed,
buried, or pulverized by something which has demanded a high price
to endure.  Sometimes, if negotiated successfully, we may brag of
our accomplishments, but generally we weep.   Often we fumble for
an explanation to save face, dodge questions, or to soothe
emotions.  When all else fails, we plug in the old standby:

     And we know that all things work together for good to
     them that love God, to them who are the called according
     to His purpose (Rom. 8:28).

     This is perhaps the most misunderstood, certainly the most
misinterpreted, verse in all the Bible.  Anything and everything
can be easily, and conveniently dumped into the black hole of
Romans 8:28 and never seen or heard from again.  Since God has
failed to answer prayer, change circumstances, or honor His Word,
the quoting of it saves face.  Such failure can be devastating,
even destructive,  especially to the Christian who claims to be
walking in the Spirit.  We, of all people, must have answers
because we are led of the Holy Spirit.  What if there simply isn't
any answer?

     I know a pastor who had recently taken over a self supporting
church that had a number of past problems.  For months the pastor,
along with the remaining leadership, had to deal with a
multiplicity of difficulties.  People began to leave because of
both the new and old pastors.  Relocation became necessary because
the membership was dwindling and the landlord wanted to raise the
rent.  Personal problems began to make themselves known in
people's own lives.  A strong stand was taken on the authority of
God's eternal Word which, of course, divided some and drew others.
Demonic forces were released against the church through a member
involved in the occult and rebellion began to be manifested in
segments of the Body.   Finally, the pastor decided to terminate
his ministry and release the church.

     For their final Sunday together, the pastor spoke from Romans
8:28 and explained how "all things work together for good."  This
promise, he said, is not for just any Christian but rather for
those walking in the Spirit through prayer, according to the two
prier verses, (Romans 8:26-27).  Additionally, "and we know that
all things work together" targets those Christians faithful in
harmonizing their prayers with that of the Holy Spirit as he
"makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God."
If we are careful to examine Romans 8 in context, we discover that
"There is now therefore no condemnation to them who are in Christ
Jesus, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.  Thus,
those walking in the Spirit and taking up partnership with the
intercessory prayers of the Holy Spirit, will not experience
condemnation but will "know," see with spiritual vision, that
"all things" can, and will be, worked together by God for their
benefit.  This includes, of course, things good or bad, right or
wrong, holy or unholy.  This pastor was not suggesting, however,
that God authors the bad - see James 1:12-17 - but will instead
incorporate "all things" for the benefit of His own people.  In
another words, what the Devil means for evil, God will mean for
good.  Do not be concerned with how flat, how pulverized, how
squeezed you may be.  Wait upon the Lord through the intercessory
ministry of the Holy Spirit in prayer, and as you are hung out to
dry, remember the promise of Romans 8:28.

     This particular pastor is totally blind with three children,
all who see normally, and has been married for seventeen years.
His wife is also totally blind.  He now has no personal income,
feels a sense of defeat and rejection, deep concern for his
family, an awareness of loss and personal failure, and even
wonders if he will ever be used by the Lord again.  Yet he knows
that Romans 8:28 is applicable to those who walk by faith and are
submitted to the Heavenly Father who promises to work all things
together for their benefit.  How do I know he, this pastor,
believes this?  I am that pastor.

     Although my wife and I have wept buckets of tears and
struggled with turbulent emotions, we "know," see with
supernatural vision, that God has a plan.  The pain is real, the
guilt is real, and the fear is real and so is God.  If you are
suffering as we are at this very moment, be refreshed by taking up
partnership with the Holy Spirit in prayer.  Cry the tears of
failure, experience the crushing devastation of the unknown,
endure the bone splintering pain of rejection, but believe God.
He will never leave or forsake you.  If you will thus submit to
the promise, and resultant power, of Romans 8:28, the Devil will
confess, as you are put through the ringer, "He looks more like
Jesus now than before!"


It Sounds Like God To Me.
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