God's Word on That

Tag: christianity

  • Seeking Spiritual Wisdom

    Knowledge is not wisdom. Wisdom is “knowledge in action”. Like all knowledge, spiritual knowledge may make you feel accomplished or provide a patch-work relief, but unless you actually implement on your knowledge, i.e. take proper action, your knowledge will simply remain knowledge. It will not transform to wisdom!!

    Wisdom on spiritual things comes from God.

    Who is like a wise man?  And who knows the interpretation of a thing?  A man’s wisdom makes his face shine and the sternness of his face is changed (Ecclesiastes 8:1).

    There is the spirit in man – the breath of the Almighty – that gives him understanding.  It is not only the old who are wise, not only the aged who understand what is right (Job 32:8-9).

    But whoever listens to me (Wisdom) will live in safety, and be at ease without fear of harm.        [Not that harm will never come, but that we will not live in fear because of possible harm.]    (Proverbs 1:33)

    But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure, then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere (James 3:17).

    Yes, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God (Proverbs 2:3-5).

    Oh, the depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out! (Romans 11:33).

    “In the beginning was the Word” = Christ – literally “the Word”, meaning the Messiah – the Wisdom and Power of God – and the first cause of all things; God’s personal expression of Himself to man.     (Living Bible comment on John 1:1)

    All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

    The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever that we may follow all the words of this Law (Deuteronomy 29:29).

    You are wise only when you are humble, that the very first bit of wisdom and the pre-requisite for all others is the realization that we are not wise. (Socrates)

    I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, our glorious Father, give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may know Him better (Ephesians 1:17).

    It is because of God that you are in Christ Jesus – who has become for us wisdom from God; that is: our righteousness, holiness and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30).

    [Christ Jesus] in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3).

    He who walks with the wise grows wise (Proverbs 13:20).

    Observe [these decrees and laws of God] carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations (Deuteronomy 4:6).

    Whoever is wise will observe these things and will understand the loving-kindness of the Lord (Psalm 107:43).

    [Be careful.]  With much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief (Ecclesiastes 1:18).

    [Yet] Know also that wisdom is sweet to your soul; if you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off (Proverbs 24:14).

    I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me, but I have stilled and quieted my soul… (Psalm 131:1-2)

    Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12).

  • But God’s Discipline is Not Harsh

    God is very ingenious in making crosses for us – He makes crosses of whatever we love best, and turns all to bitterness.  They crucify such persons from head to foot, and teach them their own lack of power and the uselessness of all they possess.  But faith turns these crosses all to good account.  It teaches us to look upon all such things as mere bondage, and in our patient acceptance of them it shows us real freedom.  Happy are those who learn to see God’s hand bruising them in mercy.     (Fenelon)

    God doesn’t discipline us to be mean. Beauty does come from it.

    Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him! (Job 13:15)

    The Lord has chastened me severely, but He has not given me over to death (Psalm 118:18).

    God is a fountain of endless novelty.

    It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by His own authority (Acts 1:7).

    You have allowed me to suffer much hardship, but You will restore me to life again and lift me up from the depths of the earth.  You will restore me to even greater honor; and comfort me once again…  Then I will praise You with music on the harp because You are faithful to Your promises, O God (Psalm 71:20-22).

    Everything in heaven and on earth is designed to purify us and make us worthy of Him.

    Blessed is the man You discipline, O Lord, the man You teach from Your law.  You grant him relief from days of trouble (Psalm 94:12-13).

    [Even] Though He [Jesus] was a [firstborn] Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered (Hebrews 5:8).

    A wise son heeds his father’s instruction (Proverbs 13:1).

    He who ignores discipline comes to poverty and shame, but whoever heeds correction is honored (Proverbs 13:18).

    No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.  Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have indeed been trained by it (Hebrews 12:11).

    Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain (Psalm 139:6).

    The ultimate measure of a friend is where they stand in times of challenge.  In the same way, we will never know (in a personal way) the faithfulness of Jesus apart from adversity and Him sharing it with us.  God is in the process of engineering circumstances through which He can reveal Himself to each one of us.

    When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the rest of the world (1 Corinthians 11:32).

    No matter what you feel, God is always good.

  • God Guides Through Discipline

    God does not want us happy and comfortable. [I am a good person, therefore I deserve…]  God sustained 938,000 people in the desert for 40 years.  He can sustain you.  He has no trouble keeping you alive.  He wants you in service – He needs your spirit.   It is your spirit that He spends time disciplining.            

    Our Father is always watching to correct our path.

    Do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction.  For whom the Lord loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights (Proverbs 3:11-12).

    Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects.  Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty (Job 5:17).

    And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those He loves and punishes everyone He accepts as a son.”  Endure [choose to submit to] hardship as discipline.  God is treating you as sons.  For what son is not disciplined by his father? (Hebrews 12:5-7)

    God heaps crosses on those He loves.  “Could He not make us good without making us so miserable?”  But He has not chosen to do so.  He is the Master.  We can only be silent and adore His infinite wisdom without understanding it. (Fenelon)

    Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline (Revelation 3:19).

    The more we are afraid to bear crosses, the more we need them.  We should be fully aware of the magnitude of our disease by seeing the severity of the remedies that our Spiritual Physician sees good to apply!  Accept suffering as therapeutic to building faith and character.     (Fenelon)

    Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you (Deuteronomy 8:5).

    We must carry our cross as a treasure.  It is through that cross that we are made worthy of God and conformed to the likeness of His Son. Crosses are part of our daily bread.  God regulates the measure of them according to the things we really lack and require.  He knows what we need, even if we are ignorant of it.  Let Him do as He wills and let us resign ourselves into His hands.    

    My brothers, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.  But let patience have its perfect work [in you], that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing (James 1:2-4).

    For the commandment is a lamp, and the whole teaching [of the law] is light, and reproofs of discipline are the way of life (Proverbs 6:23).

  • God Comes Down To Us

    You must become settled on this spiritual fact: God’s thoughts are not like man’s thoughts.  Nor are His ways like our ways.  He alone, who knows the end of things from their beginning, is able to determine what the result of any course of action may be.  Let no hint of doubt turn you from a steadfast faith in God’s willingness and ability to guide you.

    God’s thoughts are way above our thinking, but He keeps working with us to get us to understand Him.

    Be still and know that I am God.  I will be exalted among the nations.  I will be exalted in the earth (Psalm 46:10)

    Is He not your Father, your Creator, who made you and formed you? (Deuteronomy 32:6)

    For your Maker is your Husband; your [kinsman] Redeemer…  (Isaiah 54:5)

    But You are our Father, though Abraham does not know us or Israel acknowledge us.  You, O Lord, are our Father, our Redeemer (Isaiah 63:16).

    I, even I am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins (Isaiah 43:25).

    I am the God who heals you (Exodus 15:26)

    “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.  “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

    Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise – for He is God, our God, forever and ever.  He will be our Guide even to death (Psalm 48:14).

    But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners [unable to know Him personally] Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

    Consider Him [Christ Jesus, the very Son of God] who endured such opposition from sinful men so that you will not grow weary and lose heart (Hebrews 12:3).

    Jesus properly interpreted the law.  Therefore, His power was greater than the evil spirits’.

    All we like sheep have gone astray.  We have turned, everyone to his own way.  [Yet] the Lord has laid on [Christ Jesus] the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6).

    The stone the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.  This was the Lord’s doing… (Psalm 118:22-23)

    On His robe and on His thigh He has this name written: King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:16)

    Surely He has borne our grief and carried our sorrows.  Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted.  But He was wounded for our transgressions.  He was bruised for our iniquities.  The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are [now] healed (Isaiah 53:4-5)

    The love of Jesus compels us to do what we never thought we could do and go to heights we never thought we could reach.  Precious is the Name of Jesus!

    Yet for us there is but one God – the Father, from whom all things come and for whom we live.   And there is but one Lord – Jesus Christ, through whom all things come and through whom we live (1 Corinthians 8:6).

    If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free (John 8:31-32).

  • Dealing With Ourselves

    We are not invulnerable to the devil – he is wise, he is crafty.  Guard your heart!  Do not flirt with trials.  Have confidence that God gives us a spirit of self-discipline to handle the temptation that we struggle with most in our life.  Father, please use Your power to block the paths of evil this day and every day.  Amen.

    Let us reflect on our ways to understand our sufferings.

    And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2).

    Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but be a new and different person with a fresh newness in all you do and think.  Then you will learn from your own experience how His ways will really satisfy you.  (Romans 12:2 the Living Bible Translation)

    We would like to be consumed all at once by the flames of pure love, but such an end would scarcely cost us anything.  It is only an excessive self-love that desires to become perfect in a moment and at so cheap a rate.  (Fenelon)

    These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom – in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body.  But [actually] are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh (Colossians 2:23).

    The Ten Commandments were given for us to enjoy life better, not to make it worse.

    But law came in, with the result that the trespass multiplied; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, just as sin exercised dominion in death, so grace might also exercise dominion through justification leading to eternal life…  (Roman 5:20-21)

    The Ten Commandments were given so that all could see the extent of their failure to obey God’s laws.  But the more we see our sinfulness, the more we see God’s abounding grace forgiving us.  Before, sin ruled over all men and brought them to death, but now God’s kindness rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.  (Romans 5:20-21 the Living Bible Translation)

    Abounding sin is the terror of the world, but abounding grace is the hope of mankind.  However sin may abound, it still has its limits, for it is the product of finite minds.  But God’s “much more” introduces us to infinitude!  Against our deep creature-sickness stands God’s infinite ability to care!

    Who can discern his errors?  Forgive my hidden faults.  Keep Your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me.  Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression (Psalm 19:12-13).

    Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxieties, and see if there is any wicked way in me.  Lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23-24).

    Through the grace that I have been given I say this to every one of you: never pride yourself on being better than you really are, but think of yourself dispassionately, recognizing that God has given to each one His measure of faith (Romans 12:3).

    Self-pity is of the devil and if I wallow in it, I cannot be used by God for His purposes.  When I stop telling God what I want, He can freely work His will in me without any hindrances.  Have faith in Him and His goodness!

    Tears shed for self are tears of weakness.  Tears of love shed for others are signs of strength.

    Discouragement is not the fruit of humility but of pride.  All our falls are useful if they strip us of a disastrous confidence in ourselves, while they do not take away a humble and saving trust in God.

    I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.  For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. (Romans 7:18).

    Don’t be ashamed of yourself; Jesus paid a high price for you.

    Do you know where to find rest?  Where you find a clean conscience?  Where you find the ability to sleep at night and live with yourself?  By living in the pleasure of the Father who made you.

    Words of encouragement: God forgives first, then forgets.

  • For Man’s Part…

    God’s commandments were given to protect and promote man’s happiness, not to restrict it.  God wants the best for us.  He has laid down spiritual laws which, if obeyed, bring harmony and fulfillment.  But if disobeyed, bring discord and disorder.

    There is not a righteous man on earth who [always] does what is right and never sins (Ecclesiastes 7:20).

    For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

    For they loved praise from men more than praise from God (John 12:43).

    The world is evil, the times are waxing late, and the glory of God has departed from the church as the fiery cloud once lifted from the Temple in the sight of Ezekiel… This God of our fathers wants to be the God of those fathers’ succeeding race.  We have only to prepare Him a habitation in love and faith and humility.  We have but to want Him badly enough, and He will come and manifest Himself to us.

    Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord (Lamentations 3:40).

    These six things does the Lord hate; no, seven are an abomination to Him: a proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked imaginations, feet that are swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaks lies, and he who sows discord among brothers (Proverbs 6:16-19).

    We live in an age which everything is working against the things we hold dear…  In this evil day we need constant reminders of the truth.  If we are not careful with our time, we will allow others to fill it up for us, and there will be none left for God.

    For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father, but is of the world (1 John 2:16).

    You say, “I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing” – and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked (Revelation 3:17).

    Do you love life?  Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.   (Ben Franklin)

    Don’t look down to see anyone, unless you are glancing down in order to help them to their feet again.

    Do not be deceived, God is not mocked.  For whatever a man sows, that he will also reap (Galatians 6:7).

    Do not be deceived: evil company corrupts good habits (1 Corinthians 15:33).

    Stubbornness is an iniquity, and is idolatry in hiding.

    Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.  Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account (Hebrews 4:13).

    For if your heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart and knows all things [so don’t think you’ll get by Him]  (1 John 3:20).

    If our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.  [He will stand by us.]  (1 John 3:21)

  • There Is a Purpose For Pain

    Pain plants the flag of reality in the fortress of the rebel heart.  How unfinished and rebellious and proud and unconcerned we would be without suffering changing us!  So simply say, “Thank you, Lord, for this test” for it WILL strengthen you.

    Fact: God does indeed comfort good people when bad things happen to them.  Trouble never leaves us where it finds us; sorrow will always change our tomorrow.  God inspires us to become better, not bitter.

    Pain is inevitable but misery is optional.

    Christian life is not deliverance FROM trouble, but deliverance IN trouble.  God gives us life as we overcome, not an overcoming life.  Only when you spend yourself will you strengthen yourself.

    Sacrifice is the currency of God’s kingdom.                                                          

    Thank God for your adversity.  If it is from the devil, he will stop since God is getting the credit for it.  If it is from God, then at least your gratitude is getting to the right place.

    I think sometimes it takes a life-changing event to make us really see the way we’re living based on the choices we’ve made.  (Jana DeLeon)

    It’s a rare person who wants to hear what he doesn’t want to hear.     (Dick Cavett)

    Sleep, riches and health – to be enjoyed fully – must be interrupted.   (J. P. Richter)

    It is unkind to attribute every sorrow to God’s punishment; suffering can be used to glorify God.

    Neither this man nor his parents sinned – but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in his life (John 9:3).

    God’s economy is upside down from the world’s economy.  God says: the more hopeless your circumstances, the more likely your salvation; the greater your cares, the more genuine your prayers; the darker the room, the more need for light.

    We are better able to appreciate blessing if we endure hardships.

    Our target is to glorify our Lord Jesus.  Tears sometimes blur our vision, but we must remember our position in Christ and continue on.

    Helping others in distress begins when we share their pain.  [Trust comes when we share our pain.]

    Sympathy is two hearts tugging at one load.

    The Lord is slow to anger and great in power and will by no means clear the guilty.  The Lord has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet (Nahum 1:3).

    “Clouds are the dust of His feet.”  Clouds are a sign that God is there…  Sorrow, bereavement, and suffering are therefore actually the clouds that come along with God, because God is always with us.

  • God’s Word For Handling Loss

    The Holy Spirit brings me into oneness with God entirely – when once I am willing to waive my right to myself and let Him have His way.  No man gets there without a crisis, a crisis of a terrific nature in which he goes to the death of something.  God is never far away from His saints to think ‘about’ them; He ‘thinks’ them.  We are taken up into His consciousness…  How we get there we cannot say, but it is by the process of God’s training of us.  God won’t leave us alone…    (Oswald Chambers)

    The future may look dark and foreboding, but God will see you through.

    “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in your weakness”…  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities … pains … distresses; for Christ’s sake.  For when I am weak, then [we are] strong (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

    Wealth, health, and happiness are gifts from God but they are not the only way He demonstrates His love.  Sometimes He allows these things to be taken away and allows us to undergo suffering so He can help us grow in wisdom.  If you have been going through sorrow and trials, ask the Lord to show His mercy and compassion toward you, and bring a result of wisdom and righteousness in your life.

    I will not die but live!  And I will proclaim what the Lord has done (Psalm 118:13).

    Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised  (James 1:12).

    Whether the illness is physical, emotional or spiritual, a person should first seek healing from Jehovah-Rapha…  Second, explore whether sin is the cause of the problem.  Sin effects our spirit, and the spirit can cause sickness of our emotions and our bodies.  Yet sin may not always be the cause of the problem.  In fact, personal sin may not even be a contributing factor.  However, we should still pray: “Search me, O God…”  It is wise to have God search our hearts. (Kay Author)

    When times are good, be happy.  But when times are bad consider: God has made the one as well as the other (Ecclesiastes 7:14).

    We should love, but we should love with the love that expects death and that reckons upon separation.  Our dear relations are but loaned to us, and the hour when we must return them to the Lender’s hand may be even at the door.  The like is certainly true of our worldly goods.  That thought may stay us from taking too deep a root in the thin soil from which we are so soon to be transplanted into the heavenly garden.  Let us recollect the frail tenure upon which we hold our temporal mercies.  If we would remember that all the trees of earth are marked for the woodsman’s axe, we should not be so ready to build our nests in them.  Frail flowers of the field, we must not reckon upon blooming forever.  There is a time for every purpose, including weakness and sickness.

    There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).

    You may have lost a loved one.  God will make it up to you – if you place your trust in Him and refuse to try and collect what you feel is owed to you by yourself.  [Look at Joseph and Job.]    (Joyce Meyers)

    We often gain by our losses.  The one who has suffered no loss is still a shallow person.

    God is not concerned about our plans.  He doesn’t ask, “Do you want to go through this loss?”  He allows these things for His own purposes.  The things we go through are either making us sweeter, better, nobler people, or they are making us more critical and fault finding.  (Oswald Chambers)

    The sick person who cannot sleep thinks the night is endless, yet it is no longer than any other night.  In our cowardice we exaggerate all we suffer.  Our pain may be severe but we make it worse by shrinking under it.  The real way to get relief is to accept suffering because God sends it [or at the least uses it] to purify us.   (Fenelon)

  • God’s Word On Suffering

    Man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upwards (Job 5:7).

    Paul was determined that nothing would stop him from doing exactly what God wanted.  But, before we choose to follow God’s will, a crisis must develop in our lives.  This happens because we tend to be unresponsive to God’s gentler nudges.  God brings us to the place where He asks us to be our utmost for Him, and we begin to debate [whether we should or should not, whether it is convenient or not]. He then providentially produces a crisis where we HAVE to decide – follow or not follow.  That moment then becomes a great crossroads in our lives.  If a crisis has come to you on any front, surrender your will to Jesus absolutely. [Save yourself some time.]      (Oswald Chambers)

    Dark times come to each of us. But God always provides hope.

    We can ignore pleasure; we can ignore God speaking to us in good ways.  But pain insists on being attended to.      (C.S. Lewis)

    Dear friend, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering as though something [new and] strange were happening to you.  But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed (1 Peter 4:12-13).

    We know that we must suffer, and that we deserve it.  Nevertheless, we are always surprised at affliction.

    No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.  And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it (1 Corinthians 10:13). You may even surprise yourself!

    Suffering has a purpose.  Look beyond the pain to find the purpose.

    You shouldn’t mind the trial if you know the Judge.

    Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all (2 Corinthians 4:17).

    A crisis will reveal whether we have been practicing or not.

    The Lord gave me everything I had, and they were His to take away.  Blessed by the name of the Lord [no matter what].  (Job 1:21)

    If we saw where our life was headed, if we had the whole picture laid out for us, there would be no need or room for faith.

    Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12).

    Don’t get angry with God.  Use problems to strengthen your character and to bring glory to God.  Difficulty and joy are not exclusive enemies; more like mutual friends.

    And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulations produce perseverance, and perseverance character, and character hope (Romans 5:3-4).

  • Why Do Bad Things Happen?

    Why do bad things happen to good people? This is the wrong question because it is the one question God never answers: Why.  The Old Testament prophets lamented; even Jesus cried out “My God, Why?”  God didn’t answer.  God never answers the ‘why’ because the person who asks it doesn’t really want an explanation; he wants an argument.  If God answered one why, we would come up with another.  There would be no end to it.  The right question is: What happens to good people when bad things happen?  Jesus answered: They are blessed.

    Crisis gives notoriously little warning before it bursts into your life.  It doesn’t call ten minutes before it arrives.  It refuses to knock politely and wait for you to answer the door.  More likely it simply rams the door off its hinges and there it is, unannounced, unexpected, unwelcome, and unwilling to go away.  Now… what do you do with it?  Does it stagger you… or strengthen you?  Does it ruin you… or refine you?  Does it plunge you into despair… or draw you closer to your Lord?

    Important questions.  Important not just for you but for others as well.  The way you handle sudden crisis has a lot to say about the reality of your faith in Christ Jesus.  You may talk a good faith, but the way you move through stressful situations in your life reveals to every watching eye the actual fiber of your faith.  Is it just window dressing, or is it an inner power that gives you peace and perspective in the midst of pain?  That’s the kind of faith that compels others to sit up and take notice – they will want to seek the source of your strength. [Wilkinson].

    The Lord has chastened me severely, but He has not given me over to death (Psalm 118:18).

    While God is in absolute control of all life, He is not the cause of all life’s mishaps. Rather His plan allows mishaps to train us.

    God’s purpose is not to punish but to correct and nurture.

    God’s questions to Job are not intended to teach but to stun. They are not to enlighten but to awaken. They are not to stir the mind but to bend the knee.

    We may not know what God is doing in our lives, but as long as we have trust, God will see it works out.  It’s a risk to say of circumstances “This is what God is doing,” but it is not a risk to say “God is present and active.”  This we can actually rest on!  [Wisdom 11:15-16]

    Trust in Jesus doesn’t remove obstacles. Rather it gives strength to overcome them. So we learn even more.