I know two people right now that have trials bigger than mine. I'm going to call these people "spiritual heroes." These individuals refuse to listen to the world and the lies of the deceiver. They are standing on the promises of God. They trust and know that He will come through for them even if life gets uglier before it gets pretty. But the secret is... they KNOW life will get pretty. God promised. That's some strong faith and amazing hope. They get their strength from the Lord. Through the trials of these "spiritual heroes" of mine I, too, am able to believe and know and trust in God's goodness.
"I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9
"Jesus looked at them and said to them, 'With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'" Matthew 19:26
"The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord." Lamentations 3:25-26
What my "spiritual heroes" have, I also have. Thank goodness! It is an amazing thing. It is a relationship with Jesus. An intimate relationship with the God of love. The giver of life. The one who gives hope, peace, mercy and grace. God tells us in His Word to spend time with Him. To make a meeting time with Him daily and to make it a priority. He wants us to read His Words in the Bible. He wants us to pray and listen for His voice. He wants us to enjoy His presence.
When we are obedient to God and make time with Him, He blesses us and strengthens us. He gives us courage to face the day... whether it be a typical, ordinary, uneventful day... or a day we'd rather not face because it's filled with unknowns, trials, and painful things.
In this song by Francesca Battistelli she talks about how our circumstances look so different in the light of God's loving face. Please click on this link to "Strangely Dim" (then click the back arrow at the top to come back here.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsvMy5n5nrA
God is glorified when we sacrifice our time and our praises of thanksgiving no matter what the offering. He delights in praises of gladness and thanks for bitter trials. Giving thanks for the latter is much more difficult... for this recovering control freak anyway. Thanking God for the good things is easy... however, sometimes giving credit where credit is due is overlooked... to our sovereign God who gives us the pleasurable blessings in the first place.
Our verse of thanks for today is a simple way to get started.
"I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the LORD." Psalm 116:17
Learning from my "spiritual heroes" and from what God has been speaking into my heart through His Word and our daily "quiet time" has given me the courage to hand it over to Him. I thank God for this new trial because I know He has plans to make it work for good in the end. I made a wise investment in spending time with Jesus... and you can too.
I just love how this song by Jimmy Needham tells of the victory we have when we look to God for our strength. It's called "My Victory." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P480jDPpYHs
"And be thankful." Colossians 3:15b
I'm thankful for you, Merrie! God bless you. I agree - God has blessed me with a few spiritual heroes who have shown me how to keep my eyes on HIM and not on my circumstances. Always learning and growing . . .
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