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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