Character Building Exercises // Becoming an Overnight Success, Part 8

As a theoretical concept, we all believe in character–building. It’s a good idea. It’s a good thing. Sure! But as a practical exercise, character building, almost always hurts. And when it’s us that’s hurting, character building doesn’t seem like such a good idea.

You know something; if I never hear the term 'character building' again it will be too soon. Let me tell you why. When I was a young man between the ages of seventeen and twenty-one I spent four years training to be an officer in the Australian army at the Royal Military College Duntroon, it's the Australian version of America's West Point and Britain's Sandhurst. Now sounds just a tad glamorous doesn't it? And certainly that's how the recruiting brochures portrayed it. Those four years though were without a doubt, the four toughest years of my life. Over seven and a half thousand young men applied, a hundred and forty seven were accepted and only sixty one of us graduated, it's a pretty severe attrition rate and the reason was that it was brutally difficult.

We all studied a university degree while undertaking military training, it was a punishing seven day a week schedule, intellectually, physically and emotionally punishing and each time we were going through the next incredibly difficult thing, the next nine mile run with full pack and rifle, the next survival exercise, climbing over steep mountains without any food.The next drill sergeant screaming in our face, some of them would mutter under their breath 'character building', everyone else would just snigger grimly. My point is character building is always painful and difficult.

As I said yesterday on the program you don't have your character developed while you are sitting on the beach on a nice holiday sipping a Pina colada, your character is only ever tested and refined and developed through the difficult times and thinking back to those brutal four years of Duntroon everything we went through was about developing our character so if we were ever called upon we would have the capacity to lead soldiers into war, into battle with bullets flying and bombs going off. Each one of those exercises were truly character building exercises to weed out those who couldn't make it and to develop those who could and that's the business that God is in, developing our character, yours and mine through deliberately planned trials. Some people find that a tad confronting but that's exactly what the Bible teaches us, Romans chapter 5 verses 1 to 5:

Therefore since we are justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we now stand and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that we also boast in our suffering because we know that suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character and character produces hope and hope never disappoints us because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

Now that's a very interesting passage, it starts off by declaring the good news of Jesus, that we're saved by faith, that in Jesus we've obtained the grace that brings us peace with God and we're right to boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God, man that's really good news. And then comes the segway from God's grace to our suffering and not only that but we also boast in our suffering. Can I ask you something? How often have you boasted in your suffering? When was the last time you boasted to your family or to your friends about the suffering that you were going through right at that minute?

It's almost as though the Apostle Paul who is writing this letter to the Church in Rome, is truly boasting in his suffering which actually he does over and over again in the various letters that he wrote that are now part of the New Testament, the Bible, Gods very own Word. mSo why does he boast in his suffering? Well to him it's absolutely obvious, it's because he knows that suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character and character produces hope and that hope doesn't disappoint us because Gods love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that's been given to us.

Paul knew that through his suffering God was developing his character and when God develops your character it invariably hurts, especially at the beginning. I can't tell you the pain that I remember from those days at Duntroon, they say you can't remember pain well perhaps they have never been through military training. Every muscle in my body ached, I was so tired I wanted to drop and then we'd march another fifty miles through the mountains without food or sleep. I tell you I wouldn't do it again for ten million dollars, that's how hard it was.

It's interesting every now and then, a few of us, old classmates get together and we have dinner and we remember the good old days and just generally have a good time and in each of those guys, older and greyer and many of them somewhat pudgier than they were back as young men, I see men of character, a depth of character I can see in each one of them. You can't put a price on that. See God is interested in your heart, He's interested in building your character and that's a really blessed thing. Character building exercises, each one planned specifically for you, each one designed, hand crafted to develop you into the person that God made you to be.

When Samuel was sent to choose the next king of Israel who turned out to be King David but who back then was just a teenager, God said to Samuel, 1 Samuel chapter 16 verse 7;

Do not look on his outward appearance or on the height of his stature because I've rejected him for the Lord sees not as a man sees, man looks on the outward appearance but the Lord looks on the heart.

And in each fiery trial, each character building exercise that you go through that's what God is interested in, God's interested in your heart. So there's the theory lesson if you will but now it's time to apply it to your life. What character building exercises has God have you in the middle of just at the moment? Is it a temptation that's testing you, is it a relationship that is causing you pain, is it something you've been longing for and God seems to be delaying His answer? What is it in your life at the moment? The one thing that's causing you grief, pain and distress because it's that one thing that I believe God wants you to apply His Word to today.

To take that Scripture from Romans chapter 5 verses 1 to 5 and to apply it to your trial. I'm going to read it again in a minute and as I do let the words sink into your trial, your pain, your distress, your longing, your disappointment because as you do God is going to breathe His Holy Spirit into you, as you do God is going to strengthen your weak knees, He's going to put resolve in your heart, He's going to breathe meaning into your suffering and in doing all of that I believe He is going to develop your character and move you closer to being all He created you to be. Are you ready? Here it is, God speaking directly into your suffering through His Word, Romans chapter 5 verses 1 to 5:

Since you have been justified by faith you now have peace with God through Jesus Christ through whom you have obtained access to this grace in which you now stand and you can boast in your hope of sharing the glory of God. But not only that you should also boast in your suffering knowing that suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character and character produces hope and that hope is never going to disappoint you because Gods love has been poured into your heart through the Holy Spirit who has been given to you.

May the Word of God transform you today and may you be filled with the resolve to honour God through your trials and to serve others with His love until Jesus comes again.