Jesus died for every ungodly person in the past, present, and future, but many refuse to relinquish their pride and rebellion to believe in Him. He allows suffering in our life to produce perseverance, character, hope, and faith in His faithfulness to everyone who first calls on His name to be saved (Romans 5:3-6; James 1:2-6; Romans 10:13).
When we are insulted because we are Christians, we can look at this from an eternal perspective. We discover that we are blessed because the Holy Spirit of God rests on us. We give God praise since He gave us a way to bear His name as our own. Suffering produces patient endurance in us and allows us to comfort others (1 Peter 4:114-16; 2 Corinthians 1:5-7).
Jesus is the firstborn of many brothers and sisters whom God knew about before He made the world (Psalm 139). He sanctifies us to be like His Son, and He works out everything in our life for our ultimate good (Romans 8:28-29). He began this work in us, and He will continue until it is completed when Jesus returns (Philippians 1:6).
When we go through trials and trust in the Lord to heal and deliver us through them with joy in our heart and a smile on our face, then God gets all the glory, and unbelievers are tempted to give Him control of their life also (Psalm 40:4-5, 71:14-17). We can help them, as they experience trials in their life, with the same encouragement God gives to us.
We are examples of the Christian walk of faith as we imitate Christ in our life (1 Corinthians 11:1). We eventually come to the place in our spiritual maturity that we realize that there is no one like God. No one on earth knows us, cares about us, or loves us as much as He does.
Even as we age, He is our strength to keep on keeping on. Our afflictions encourage us to seek God’s face, to bury our self in the comfort of His Word, to understand His ways, to hope in His love, and to trust in His compassion (2 Corinthians 1:3-4; Psalm 119:71-77).
Prayer:
Father God, You are our Father of mercy and comfort in all of our afflictions and allow us to carry one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2). You help us not to grow weary, because although our body or soul may be in distress, You renew our spirit each moment of the day. We start to view trials as light and momentary issues, that are providing us with rewards in heaven that far outweighs what we are suffering now.
You are our refuge and our testimony (Psalm 73:25-28). Help us to keep our focus fixed on You and on the unseen aspects of life that are eternal in the heavenlies (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). Remind us that when we give up things of this earth for Your glory that You provide us with a depth of eternal life both now and forevermore (Mark 10:28-30). Thank You that we enjoy an intimate relationship with You as our Sovereign Lord.
Thoughts for the Day:
When the guilt over our chosen lifestyle gets too overwhelming for us to bear, then God hears our sighing and strengthens us within to be able to give up our sinful nature and to find deep fulfillment and satisfaction in His plans for our life. God is always in control of every aspect in this life, and He will bless us if we turn over the reins to Him rather than attempting to keep control for our self.
- Psalm 38:1-11 and 17-22, 40:12-13; Luke 8:22-25
