We love God by turning to Him for everything. We love God by making Him the head of our lives, letting Him manage everything, and believing that He is in control. We love God by placing our own understanding below His knowledge, and in trusting in His word even when it does not seem acceptable to our rational minds. We love God by loving and caring for His people, even the most unlikeable of them.
Though we are under considerable strain, we should learn to stand upright. For our Lord is strong, and he is a capable worker. And though we don't understand his work, and at times we cannot even appreciate it, we should go on in faith that he will not ultimately let us down. There is much ugliness in life, but as King David said, surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives.
I submit to your wisdom today, O Lord. I just don't understand why I need to go through this. Why should such an irritation even exist in my life? Why should such flawed humanity be brought forever before my eyes? But I trust you. If you think there is a need for such ugliness in my life, I shall welcome it and learn to coexist with it. I will even give up my childish notion of instant remedy and wait for you as you silently, and imperceptibly do a work in all of us. O God, I need to trust you every day, and believe that you will lead me home.
Be strong. Don't be like those who have no stamina for a fight. You should fight for your position. You should wrestle with God as Jacob did. Jacob, the patriarch, did not receive his blessing without any pain. He suffered many years, and worked many years to obtain his wife Rachel. He stayed away many years from his brother Esau, who was waiting to kill him, for he had cheated his older brother of the blessings of their father Isaac. Jacob did not become Israel immediately. He suffered much, even a dislocation of his hip, before he received the ultimate blessing from God. So be willing to suffer, and wait as long as it takes. For such is the requirement to receive the great blessings of God.
Many who pursue God feel abandoned by God sometime in their lives. Even Jesus Christ felt abandoned by God on the cross. But he recovered from the moment of despair, by placing his trust in God, who never fails. No matter how bad it looks right now, and no matter how alone you feel, know that God is with you and that he will not let you be defeated ultimately. He will carry you if he has to. But he will never leave you and walk away from you. Let your hope in him never die.
If we have failed, we should not give up. It is hard to get up after we fall. But with God we can rise every time we fall. Believe in God. Believe that he wants the best for you. It may not seem credible right now, where you are. But see this failure as what comes before success, and success will surely come, as long as you stay in faith, focused on what God alone can do for you. Whoever trusts in God will not be disappointed in the end.
From our point of view some sins are worse than others. But all sins are sin. And any sin makes us fall short of the glory of God. But Christ has paid for all sins, the small ones and the big ones. In his eyes, all sins are equally damning.
Every day is a blessing. Every breath is a blessing.
Every moment of health is a blessing. Every friend we’ve made, and every
relationship in our lives is a blessing. Every opportunity to receive
God's love, and every opportunity to share it with others is a blessing.
This is the truth that we must be aware of: we are the
creations of God made to be in union with God. And if we are not united
with God we will not find purpose in our lives. But this is our purpose:
to know God, to know the one who created us, to know the one who gave
us life, who gave us the privilege to live in this beautiful world, who
gave us the privilege to be able to think, to be able to wonder, to be
able to even ask this question: “Does God exist?”
Unforgiveness is among the ugliest things in the world. It is the quality that makes us most human and least divine.
Let us slow down and appreciate what God has created to give us joy.
Say, "I am not getting out of this without a fight. I will fight till I am everything that God wants me to be."
Salvation is not based on our performance. Thank God for that.
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