Daily Meditation and Motivation Wednesday, January 29, 2014 Three Reasons for Adversity I. To get our Attention Sauls mission was to go to Damascus and slay as many of the Lords disciples that he could find there and anyone he would meet along the way there. Up until this journey to Damascus, Sauls main purpose in his life was the persecution of Christians. Acts 9:3 The Lord gets Sauls attention by causing a great light to give him blindness. This adversity not only gains Sauls attention but also humiliates him in front of his companions traveling with him. The Lord asks Saul in verse 4 Why persecutest thou me making Saul realize that throughout his life he had been persecuting the Lord and not just the Christians he came in contact with. This caused Saul to search himself and to realize how wrong his life and his actions had been. God allows adversity, anguish, trials, tribulations, and heartaches to be valuable lessons of experience in our lives. These adversities can bring us to a higher level of insight and understanding. They can also change our perception or view of the world around us and our relationship with God. Adversity can also lead us to change our behavior. II. To get us to examine ourselves When God uses adversity to wake us up or motivate us, we should stop to look at our lives and examine ourselves. A lot of times when trouble occurs we tend to take on another personality. The term The Real Me may finally show through. As Christians we should practice self-examination in an ongoing, regular way. I Cor 11:28 Here Paul is telling the Corinthians to examine themselves to reveal their worthiness in the partaking of the Lords supper. We should take the time to search inside ourselves to find out what drives, motivates, or entices us to achieve. Motive is so important to a successful walk with God. III. To change our behavior When we become complacent, the Lord uses adversities as a way to move us forward in our spiritual walk with him. He doesnt want to get the attention of just sinners, but he also desires the attention of those who love him. God desires and encourages all of us to frequently practice self-examination so that we can see our faults and see those things we have hidden deep inside us. The Lords will for us is to complete that difficult task of changing our beliefs and changing our behavior so that we can become one in harmony with Him, using our lives as if God himself were walking in our shoes. To do this we have to use the adversities that come along to move forward, to grow spiritually, and to continually look toward Jesus Christ to help us through them. Today is your day...begin your Journey God Bless You, We Love You.
Posted on: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 10:27:40 +0000