And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
--1 Peter 5:10
Are you struggling today?
God never tells us that we won’t experience grief or sorrow in this life. There will be tears. And, to be honest, sometimes life will just suck the air right out of you.
But we must remember that trials do have a purpose. Trials can fortify us. They can prove us, test us, and prepare us.
As today’s verse says, “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”
The fact is, if you’re a Christian, you’re in a spiritual battle. Which means you have a very real enemy. And trials prepare you for this battle and make you stronger. In fact, you may be going through a spiritual boot camp of sorts today, which is preparing you for the battle ahead!
Think about it this way. When gold is made, all the impurities must be removed. The same process of refining takes place in our lives before genuine gold can come forth.
Whatever you may be facing today, keep in mind that God is forming your character, bringing out the gold in you. Everything has a reason. You may not see it… you may not understand it… but God is working in your life.
Remember that no matter what you may be going through, you can build your life on the certainty and confident expectation that God is in the midst of it. Rejoice because He is working in your life and your future!
THINK ABOUT SOME OF THE TRIALS IN YOUR PAST. WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM THEM? HOW DID THEY PREPARE YOU FOR WHAT WAS AHEAD?
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;”
Colossians 1:9–11
The idea that people are basically good and will usually do the right thing once they know what is right is quite widespread in our day. It’s easy to understand why people want to think that, because it is flattering to us to think of ourselves that way. But the Bible paints a different picture of the state of the lost. “They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Romans 3:12).
Despite the teaching of Scripture that we receive a new nature upon salvation, some people seem to want to stay as close to the old nature as they can rather than walking daily as a new creation of God. Because He is holy, He requires holy living from us. And because of His power we are no longer in bondage to sin, without the ability to do what is right. Charles Spurgeon said, “The liberty of the man of the world is liberty to commit evil without restraint; the liberty of a child of God is to walk in holiness without hindrance.”
We do not work to earn our salvation or merit with God. But we are His children, and He has the right to demand that we live up to the new name He has given us. There is freedom in Christ, but it is freedom from sin, not freedom to sin.
Today's Growth Principle:
We have the privilege and responsibility to walk in a manner worthy of being a child of God.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment