Before I give you the last four points I want to share part
of an email I received from Misty in response to last week’s article. I hope
you enjoy this as much as I did. Misty wrote;
This came to me while reading my Bible in the
fall last year, just before my surgery. It really helped my perspective
in getting through all of that.
Hebrews 12:1 is
such a common verse, but something stuck out to me that I had never seen or
heard before. For reference, the whole verse is, "Wherefore seeing
we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay
aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us
run with patience the race that is set before us."
The part I put in bold
JUMPED out at me. With running a race, you don't run with
patience, you are trying to hurry as fast as you can. Patience and
running don't go together. It's an oxy-moron. But the Lord is
telling us, your race has been set. Your obstacle course is already in order.
Nothing surprises Him, as your journey is established.....MY job is to
run it with patience. In those difficult times, be patient. When
you're waiting for that blessing, be patient. In my recovery, I had to
be patient. It was what the Lord orchestrated in my life, I had to
patiently run the race that was set before me.
I'm so thankful the
Lord establishes our steps! Thanks for letting me share. Have a
great day, while you run with patience!
Thanks Misty for those wonderful words.
Here are the last four points from last week. Enjoy!
1.
Remember
every trial is only temporary.
In this you greatly rejoice, though now
for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that
the genuineness of your faith, being
much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be
found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 1Peter 1:6-7 NKJV
The storm can’t last forever! A season is
only an area in life. The sun will rise and will set but it will rise again.
The winter will not last forever. Spring will come again with fresh growth and
start you towards a new harvest and production. It is a hot oven that produces fresh bread.
God is a God of all seasons and the season will change!
2.
Look
at hard times as discipline, not condemnation.
"I am the true vine, and My Father
is the vinedresser.
Every branch in Me that does not bear
fruit He takes away; and every branch
that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. John 15:1-6 NKJV
A fruit tree bears fruit on new branches.
Pruning or cutting will produce more new branches, thus giving more new fruit.
It is the will of God that we produce much fruit. Discipline causes us to do a
better job. Don’t allow your circumstances to make you bitter. Allow tuff times
to cause you to grow. Remember clay is shaped under pressure, hardened in fire,
then used in honor.
3.
Keep
your sense of humor; laughter is the best medicine.
A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries
the bones.
Proverbs 17:22 NKJV
What happens to us is not nearly as
important as how we respond. Dried bones are lifeless and only a miracle from
God ever changed them. We can become so bitter and crushed that we dry up and
become a bitter life void of anything productive.
Dried bones are only a reminder of what
used to be, they are skeletons of past greatness. We can’t allow our life to go
down that road. There are many reasons and blessings to still smile about.
4.
Count
your blessing; rejoice greatly!
A remedy that will work! Cling to all your
past blessings and answered prayers. Don’t forget to remind the devil, this
world, and yourself of what God has done for you in the past, and the prayers
that the Lord has answered before. If He did it once He will do it again. If
God has touched me before He will put His hand on me again!
Remember to praise and worship, shout and
sing before the wall falls, because it will fall again.
Hope, it is in the
Lord. I can’t lose hope because if I do it is as if God doesn’t matter to me. I
could easily step across that line and become an unbeliever if I lose hope.
Yes, life will take the living out of you, so for that reason alone we can’t
lose the hope God has promised us.
I
must get hold with both hands the promises of God that is where my hope is. My
hope is in the Lord.
And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee. Psalm 39:7
Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help,
whose hope is in the LORD his
God: Psalm 146:5
It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions
fail not.
They are new every morning: great is
thy faithfulness.
The LORD is my
portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
The LORD is good unto
them that wait for him, to the soul that
seeketh him.
Lamentations 3:22-25
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