Day 34: Watchman Nee - “Breaking the Outer Man”
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.”
Introduction
When we suffer, our natural response is to escape it. We imagine how our circumstances could be better and long for relief. Our prayers might even reflect that. The Bible doesn’t discourage us from asking God for His help and intervention. However, it also teaches us to make another kind of prayer first-- that we may become more like Christ through our sufferings.
Breaking the Outer Man
Watchman Nee, a Chinese evangelist and church planter, knew to pray this way. In 1952, his life took a dramatic turn after the Communist revolution in China. He was falsely accused of economic crimes and sentenced to prison.
Yet, Nee didn’t fall into despair. As he trusted in God, he believed that God was edifying his faith by breaking his "outer self." His pride and self-reliance were stripped away, and a more Christ-like heart emerged in their place. He saw how he was sharing in Jesus' sufferings and, in turn, came to know Him more deeply.
Nee, unfortunately, never regained his freedom and died in prison after twenty years. Yet even behind the bars of injustice and hardship, he continued to surrender himself to Christ and kept his eyes on Him.
Reflection
God is not just our comforter; He is also our teacher. When we face trials, instead of first thinking about how to remove suffering, let's consider what God may be teaching us and how He is shaping us.
This is obviously easier said than done, but let's recall God's unending love for us. He is sovereign over all things and desires to grow our faith. May we receive even our sufferings as His means of breaking our outer selves so that we may become more like Christ.