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More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:3-5 One of the most common questions I hear from believers and skeptics alike is “If God is good, then why do bad things happen to good people?” And it’s true that people who are genuinely good-hearted will experience suffering in their life. Furthermore, the Bible is clear that God doesn’t just allow suffering; God is often the active agent in the trials of His faithful people. It was God who first told Satan about Job (Job 1:8), who would eventually have everything taken away from him, but would be proven faithful. God also gave Paul the opportunity to show his faithfulness through suffering so that he would be humbled and realize that God’s grace is sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). Many times when I hear testimonies from Christians, they follow this pattern: I was bad… God saved me… and now things are just terrific. But if you really get into the life of any faithful Christian, you’ll see some level of suffering. So when hard times come and God gives you a season of suffering, how will you suffer? Will you walk around bitter and angry because you never did anything to deserve this? Or, will you hear that same voice of God that spoke to Paul saying, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Listen to the voice of God in the midst of your suffering and allow Him to lead you to a deeper relationship with Him. WHEN HARD TIMES HIT, SUFFER WELL FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.

Unseen Value

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”
Isaiah 53:1–3

In 2014, security guards at an art exhibit in southern Italy were stunned when they arrived in the morning and found a modern art display valued at $15,000 gone. Contrary to what one would first assume, however, the loss was not the work of clever thieves. The exhibit, which consisted of newspapers, cardboard, and cookies, had been thrown away by the cleaning crew who thought it was trash left behind by workers setting up exhibits in the gallery.
Most people do not think of artwork when they see pieces of trash. But it is not just in the realm of art appreciation that the tendency to devalue what does not appear to match our conception occurs. The same thing happened when Jesus came.
Though Jesus’ life and ministry showed Him to be the Messiah, most people did not believe in Him. Some doubted because of where He grew up. “And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see” (John 1:46). Others viewed His lack of interest in overthrowing the Romans and restoring Jewish independence as grounds for not following Jesus. And so despite His presence among them, and all the good works He did, Jesus was despised and rejected.
Even today, people do not value Jesus for who He is—God who came in the flesh to make a sacrifice for our sin. But we who know Him as our Saviour treasure our relationship with Him.
 

Today’s Growth Principle: 

We who know Christ have the opportunity to tell others who He really is and how He can change their lives.