Monday, August 10, 2015

What To Do When You Are In A Storm




Let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good… —1 Peter 4:19

“Choosing to suffer means that there must be something wrong with you, but choosing God’s will— even if it means you will suffer— is something very different. No normal, healthy saint ever chooses suffering; he simply chooses God’s will, just as Jesus did, whether it means suffering or not. And no saint should ever dare to interfere with the lesson of suffering being taught in another saint’s life.  The saint who satisfies the heart of Jesus will make other saints strong and mature for God. But the people used to strengthen us are never those who sympathize with us; in fact, we are hindered by those who give us their sympathy, because sympathy only serves to weaken us. No one better understands a saint than the saint who is as close and as intimate with Jesus as possible. If we accept the sympathy of another saint, our spontaneous feeling is, “God is dealing too harshly with me and making my life too difficult.” […] God seems to plant His saints in the most useless places. And then we say, “God intends for me to be here because I am so useful to Him.” Yet Jesus never measured His life by how or where He was of the greatest use. God places His saints where they will bring the most glory to Him, and we are totally incapable of judging where that may be.”  CHAMBERS

Suffering hardship is something that people who live in the United States often see as punishment or misfortune.  Would God allow hardship in your life .. suffering as part of your new life in Christ?  Don’t define the proper Christian life as one without care, filled with blessings.  The point of our lives is to be witnesses to the world in the face of hardship not in the lack of it.  The essence of the Christian life is found on the inside, not on the outside.  Do you remember the story of the disciples in the storm?

Mark 4:37-40  “A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.  Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?””

Jesus was sleeping … there are a storm raging around Him, but He slept.  When He spoke to His disciples, He asked “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”.  In Galatians 5:22-25 the fruit of the Spirit described there is fruit that is on the inside, that is shown on the outside by how we respond to life.  That fruit is produced by faith and obedience.  So … do you have any storms that you are facing right now?  You can endure it … Many times the problem we have is that we don’t want to accept the consequence of our actions.. of our sin … so we struggle .. we worry … maybe become angry with God when we are the source of the problem … God will forgive you of your sin and can help you endure the consequence … but you must stop focusing on the storm and focus on the Lord. 

Matthew 11:28-29 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Try it, you’ll like it!   ELGIN

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

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