The Well
The Well |
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Connecting Hope to the Hurting | |
Monday
November 17, 2008
All honor to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for it is by his
boundless mercy that God has given us the privilege of being born again. Now we
live with a wonderful expectation because Jesus Christ rose again from the dead.
For God has reserved a priceless inheritance for his children. It is kept in
heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And
God, in his mighty power, will protect you until you receive this salvation,
because you are trusting him. It will be revealed on the last day for all to
see. So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though it is necessary
for you to endure many trials for a while.
1 Peter 1:3-6
Just like love and marriage, and prayer and faith; privilege and responsibility are linked together. Along with the privilege of being born again comes the responsibility to live by faith. God has given us the authority to pray, using the name of Jesus, for His children. He wants us to trust Him with everything that comes into our lives – everything!
God allows suffering in our lives to grow us. We are to keep our eyes on Jesus and make the determination to trust Him in spite of the seeming odds against us. Peter taught the Believers of his day that the persecutions they were facing were allowed by God to make them strong. Well, all we have to do is look at the life of Job to see that this isn't just a New Testament teaching, it has been part of God's plan for a long time. I don't remember who said it, but someone said, "that which doesn't destroy us only makes us stronger." I have found that to be true.
More and more I am aware that God truly wants to turn our woes to wows for His glory. We will get to the place in our suffering where only God can change things. When we get to that place – He will come through! He will come through! I will say it again – He will come through!
Father, I thank You for Jesus. Yes, I thank You for the price He paid for my salvation, but I also thank You for the life He lived – loving each of His disciples and walking intimately with each one, even though one would betray Him. He pressed on through the suffering to show us how to press through suffering too. He prayed constantly and that is an example we need to follow. Help us trust Your love for us and press on into the promise that You have a future full of hope and joy just ahead!
