Our world is changing and we are seeing and facing things that we have never seen before ... the enemy is seeking to discourage Gods people ... if he cant get them to leave the faith, if he can discourage them and overwhelm them, or get them to question Gods faithfulness, then at least he can side-line them from being an effective witness.... The lives of Christs followers did not resemble the good life that is taught in the prosperity doctrine. They lived a life of constant dying to self ...doing-without the basics and especially the comforts of life ...suffering in ways most of us cant imagine...being persecuted, tortured, imprisoned solely, for their belief in Christ... physical aliments, etc...through it all, they saw their need for the Lord...they had to depend on Him to provide...they had to cling to Him for His strength...they had to keep their eyes focused on the Lord and stay close to Him, or they could not have endured, let alone endured while rejoicing...we can see exactly where so many scriptures we hold on to, were lived out in the Apostles daily lives... the Apostles had strong, deep faith because their faith had been tested and they found God to be faithful...for every physical, emotional, financial and mental hardship they endured, they gained more of Christ Himself! Friends, cling to the Lord now more than you ever have...He will not fail you. Read scriptures and draw your strength from Christ. This world is full of suffering, but it is also full of overcoming. It is not our strength, it is HIS that allows us to endure. It is when we feel like we are being swept under the tide of pain and adversity, that our Savior gives us His hand and puts our feet on the solid rock of His truth...He will never leave us or forsake us...when we are going through hard times, Christ is never more present and more real, but we have to focus on Him and not our difficulties, or losses and not our surroundings. We will be persecuted here...we will suffer...it is promised...but those things peel away our self-sufficiency and make us realize our need for God... losses and tests make us have faith more like a child...because we must depend on God to provide for us, as a Father provides for His children...the enemy thinks he is harming us...and perhaps he is in a physical sense, but in a spiritual sense, he is driving us further into the arms of our Lord and Savior... and God is redeeming what the enemy meant for harm into something that has eternal rewards. He cannot take away our heavenly treasures. The enemy cannot pluck us from Christs hand, He cannot keep Christ from being with us, ministering to us and pouring Himself into us...only we can do that with our own lack of faith or when we focus on everything but Christ! We need to encourage each other... pray for each other... support each other... we need to remind each other to keep pressing in to Jesus...keep looking to him in the midst of your trials and grief and loss...He will not fail you...He will see you through and give you more of Himself in the process. He is our hope...there is no other name on which we can call and be saved.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Oct 2013 03:28:10 +0000