I was thinking about Afflictions, and seeing Gods sovereignty over them in our lives, I looked up the definition for affliction and also the Scriptures that have to do with them and how the Lord uses them in our lives. You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free!! It changes everything for me to see God there and know that He is causing all things to work together for good, and using them for my good and His glory:) Martin Luther said that the 3 ways that you learn the Word of God and get to know God, are through..... 1. Meditation 2. Prayer 3. Suffering through Afflictions He said that Afflictions had been his greatest teacher...and I have to say that I totally agree with him on that point...Afflictions have also been my greatest teacher of God and His Word...Afflictions press me into Him and His Word and through these times of intense battles with Afflictions from the enemy, which ultimately comes from the Hand of God (Job 2:10; 5:18)...there is NOTHING outside of Gods Sovereign control in our lives...and if He is allowing something painful, some excruciating trial in our lives....then He means is for our good and His glory....there is ultimately something AMAZING that He is Teaching you and He desires for you to learn about Him through His Word...please go bury your face in His Word and fill your self up on Him...He is good and He is faithful and He will NEVER give up on you...He loves you so much and He is a good God... I looked up the definition of Affliction for you to tie into this point that I am studying....please turn to God and His Word FIRST...before all manner of doctors and medicines....maybe He is allowing this Affliction for a divine purpose beloved...please dont give up your faith in the midst of this trial....it has a end in sight.... and you WILL come out with much plunder and spoil from this intense battle beloved... af·flic·tion noun 1. a state of pain, distress, or grief; misery 2.a cause of mental or bodily pain, as sickness, loss, calamity, or persecution. Synonyms 2. mishap, trouble, tribulation, calamity, catastrophe, disaster. Affliction, adversity, misfortune, trialrefer to an event or circumstance that is hard to bear. A misfortune is any adverse or unfavorableoccurrence: He had the misfortune to break his leg. Affliction suggests not only a serious misfortune but theemotional effect of this: Blindness is an affliction. Adversity suggests a calamity or distress: Job remainedpatient despite all his adversities. Trial emphasizes the testing of ones character in undergoing misfortunes,trouble, etc.: His sons conduct was a great trial to him. Antonyms 1. relief, comfort, solace. It is good for me that I have been afflicted,.... The good and profit of which he had observed before; See.. Psalm 119:67..... that I might learn thy statutes; to understand them, and to keep them. Afflictions are sometimes as a school to the people of God, in which they learn much both of their duty and of their privileges; and when they are teaching and instructive, they are for good; see Psalm 94:12. If you believe that you may have an ‘Affliction’ right now…ask yourself what is the Lord seeking to accomplish in your life in the midst of the AFFLICTION beloved?….Do NOT run from the pain and anguish of it…Let Him accomplish His purpose beloved….“Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.” (1 Peter 4:1-2)….”Although He was a Son, He learned obedience through the things that He suffered” (Hebrews 5:8)….Did you read that? suffering in our flesh purifies us from sin…and purifies our sinful desires to feed the lust of our flesh….and we learn to obey God, as Christ did, through suffering in our flesh….we also learn to love Him more and more through these times of trial.....I know the more the heat is up and I keep pressing into the Word....and the love of Christ towards me....the more that my heart is healed and freed up to love Him and see Him....it may hurt for a moment...but the healing is coming beloved... and believe me...HE LOVES YOU VERY MUCH!!!!!.... and He desires for you to know that! Please hear me...HE LOVES YOU!!!! “Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.” (1 Peter 4:1-2)…..did you read that beloved?…. suffering in our flesh is what brings about the transformation in our lives…..I see that afflictions are what the Lord uses to cause that suffering in our flesh and change us……and I know that during my own afflictions I definitely become more obedient to the Lord and it cultivates and produces fruits to come forth from within me…read Galatians 5:22-23; 2 Peter 1:5-7…it is these fruits and divine attributes that the Lord is working on in your life…these are the reason for Him allowing that affliction and placing you in the refining fires to prune (John 15) you….pruning involves pain beloved….. I am focusing on seeing ALL things as coming from God….. Either His perfect will or His permissive will…… Because in that, I find that He transforms me through whatever pain and suffering that I am in, through the Holy Spirit ministering the Word of God to me. “He inflicts pain, and gives relief. He wounds, and His hands also heal.” (Job 5:18). With this in view, it changes the dynamic of my sufferings. I now go before the “throne of grace” (Hebrews 4:16) begging the Lord to change me…..in the midst of my weaknesses and afflictions…..He desires my transformation through the times of brokenness….. “He works all things together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28). “He works everything out according to the counsel of His will.” (Ephesians 1:11) The purpose for the AFFLICTIONS….tests and trials….. is for us to know and apply the truth of God’s Word…sowing seeds of the Word in the midst of our pain and heartache…in order to be conformed to His image and look more like Him… (Philippians 3:10; Romans 8:29)…’He predestined us to become conformed to the image of His Son….through the fellowship of His sufferings.’…. That means that we experience the same sufferings that our Lord did….rejection, mockery, scorn, persecution….. The conforming to His image is what equips and enables us to minister to others…… ‘I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me….’ (Galatians 2:20)….. This gives us compassion, empathy and understanding of others struggles…….an affliction will most definitely cause us to look at the sufferings of others in a TOTALLY different and more compassionate way…..it gives us insight into what others are feeling and going through… I can see where the Lord transforms our hearts, minds and beings, through afflictions and trials, that cause much pain and suffering. As we breathe in the Word of God through the afflictions and trials, our minds are transformed and renewed (Romans 12:1-2; Ephesians 4:22-24). I can see what Paul is saying in Romans 8, when he describes us as ‘sheep who are slaughtered’ … Somehow us being ‘Afflicted’ is tied into our ‘Healing’ and our ‘Transformation’…..the Lord’s purpose for the ‘refining fires of affliction’ (Isaiah 48:10), is to crucify our old nature……..and then we can be our new self with that old broken, wounded, and crippled nature gone....we are free, healed and whole to live and walk in our new life....free from the old patterns and behaviors that got us into so much trouble... Somehow in the midst of the ‘Afflictions’ something that the Lord wants to kill in us, dies…..and then that part of us is then transformed to look more like the risen Christ (Romans 8:29; Philippians 3:10) “That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies.” (1 Corinthians 15:36)…… We are literally Crucified With Christ…and we literally go through the same sufferings as our Lord did...we fellowship in His sufferings (Phil. 3:10)...why are we surprised when this happens and we experience rejection, persecution, scorn, and betrayal? ....we have never been closer to Christ as we are when this times of sweet fellowship come...and we experience a taste of what He did while He was here on this earth suffering for us....thats how much He loves you....He suffered all of that for you...to redeem you and heal you.....and love you..:) We begin to see the truth that Paul discovered in 2 Corinthians 12:9 His “grace is sufficient for you, for His power is perfected in our weakness.” “When I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:10) This confirms to us that the power us from God…not from ourselves…(2 Corinthians 4:7-12).’death works in us, but life in you’ Did you read that beloved? ‘death works in us….and it brings life to someone else in the process…’ Read 2 Corinthians 1:3-7…..’we are afflicted for others…..for their salvation and for their comfort….’ can you see that truth alive in your own life? God supernaturally afflicts us to give us insight and compassion for someone in our life that He wants us to minister to….pray for…and love unconditionally…. and in this we ‘fellowship in the sufferings of our Lord…’ (Philippians 3:10) and are more like Christ…’He bore our sins on the cross….suffering for us..(1 Peter 2:21)….so that He would know how we feel…to identify with our pain..(Hebrews 2:17; 4:15)….He knows our pain because He felt it too…what an amazing and loving God that we serve… I have been studying intensely on ‘Afflictions’ …..(because of my own afflictions)….and the verses that the Holy Spirit led me to were NOT “fainting in mind” (Hebrews 12:1-2) and fighting “The good fight of faith” (2 Timothy 4:6-8)….. DO NOT GIVE UP YOUR FAITH in the midst of the affliction….God is faithful and He is using that affliction to show you that His grace is sufficient beloved…..Believe me…watch and see how transformed that you will be when this trial is over…watch and see how fruitful that you are… The Holy Spirit will lead us and guide us through the ministry of the Word of God. We can trust in that! And during this time of searching, because of the Afflictions and Pain, the Word will begin to JUMP off the page at you....when you are begging the Lord to Teach you and reveal truth to you.... your heart longs to know Truth...the Holy Spirit will amplify the Truth to you and solidify that Truth within your heart...you will KNOW that you have been taught by the Spirit...and that Truth will be SO VERY precious to you... And the MOST AMAZING thing is that the Holy Spirit is also a Mighty Counselor...Jesus Christ came to Heal you (Isaiah 61:1-4)...He is our Great Physician.....He knows where your wounds are and He can reveal them to you and give you the healing balm found within the Word of God to heal you and give you freedom and victory over those wounds that have been holding you captive for so very long....Ask Him... He hears your prayers and He loves you very much...and His desire is to bring you into healing and wholeness....He is NOT going to ever give up on you!!! He is going to see you through this and you will gain the victory! Thanks be to God, who always gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! (1 Cor. 15:57) I Love you... Deena....
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 23:10:25 +0000
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