God became to the earth as Emmanuel and redeemed everyone
humble enough to trust in His name. We live by faith in Jesus and according to
His living Word. Tribulation, trials and persecution occur in everyone’s life.
The difference between a Believer and unbeliever is that God is on our side! He
wants to reconcile and bless everyone who calls on His name (Revelation 22:17).
If we are persecuted for Christ’s sake, He rewards us both
now and in eternity (Hebrews
11:26). Those who persecute us are probably under conviction. They hate
us because we remind them of their need to surrender to God. Our stance on
Biblical Truth judges their actions and they blame us rather than repent. They
turn against us, but they are actually rejecting Jesus, not us.
Satan uses our negative emotions, such as anxiety, grief
and lust, to draw us away from God’s chosen path for our life (2 Timothy 3:12).
We get so wrapped up in our circumstances that we neglect God. We lose our
focus and our peace at the same time (Isaiah 26:3). In case you had not noticed, God did not die and
leave you in charge.
You cannot possibly fulfill every perfectionist goal you
create nor can you save the world single-handedly. Living as a martyr does not
impress God or anyone else. You can never twist God’s arm in order to force Him
to do your will. God holds all the cards, has all the world’s resources at His
disposal. He does not need us at all.
Our only hope for a fulfilled life is to return to our
first love (Revelation
2:4). Tribulation helps us to straighten out our priorities and to put
Jesus first in our life. Rather than resist the trials God brings your way,
look for God in the midst of them. He may have a message for you in them, a
miracle for you at the end of them, or time to spend alone with Him through them.
He loves us and has a perfect plan for our life.
Prayer:
Father God, help us to resist Satan’s temptation to pull
us away from full devotion to You. Reveal to us the lies Satan uses to keep us
under his bondage. Obliterate his deception with Your truth. Forgive us for
putting other people, places and things ahead of You in our life. We know that
You do not need us, but we thank You for caring about us so much.
Thought for the Day:
The question is not if God is on our side, but
if we are on His side. Repent and believe in the name of Jesus Christ and be
saved. – Acts 16:31
