Hope-Joy-Peace
Ease and pleasure fail to refine!!!
If you’ve confessed, repented and given the negative thoughts to God, but they don’t immediately disappear…don’t give up! The deeper the wound, the longer it takes your feelings to align with your choices. It’s a battle, and you will win if you persevere.
* “Submit yourselves, therefore, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” James 4:7
If you want the peace of God to reign in your life, you have to quit several
things:
* You must quit trying to figure out HOW God will work everything out.
* You must quit worrying and fretting: “Be anxious for nothing…”
(Philippians 4:6).
* You must quit telling God what you think is right for you.
* And most of all, you must quit thinking you are a failure; STOP thinking you do not please God!
**You are God’s Masterpiece!(Eph. 2:10)
One of Satan’s most effective traps for robbing Christians of peace is to
convince them they must strive in the flesh to please God.
*You feel at times as if you’re not doing much for God?” Yes! The devil comes in and makes us all feel UNWORTHY,
Unfulfilled.
And we lose our peace by giving in to these awful feelings!
* “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace,…”Eph. 2:13,14
Listen to Paul’s prayer for us: “Now may the God of hope fill you with all
joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).
*Trust in His goodness. Believe in His love and mercy. Do not accuse Him of
being angry or upset with you or of not speaking to you.
* Let His peace rule in your heart and over your whole life!
Just think here a minute:
The weight of the glass of water is always the same. But the longer you hold it up, the heavier it gets.
*That’s the way it works in our life too. *Things are bound to happen that will weigh heavy on your heart.
** But the longer you “hold them in,” the heavier the burden gets.
God insists there must be “dry ground” on our way through the Red Sea. He
told Israel, “[You] shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea”
(Exodus 14:16).
Simply put, Dry Ground is a Path. And if you are on it, then you are going
somewhere.
You are not losing ground or going backward; your dry ground is the
Lord’s plan, His work in your life, His miracles to perform.
You are Moving Forward toward a revelation, a new victory in Christ, toward something greater.
*God is telling us, in essence: “I want you to learn to Move Forward in your faith—not according to a vision or a voice(which is great also), but when you are in the midst of a dry spell.
I want you to be confident that when you cannot hear My voice or see
ahead—when you are on dry ground—I am leading you somewhere.”
The Lord promises that He will turn our dry ground into springs of fresh water:
**“When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongues fail for thirst, I, the Lord, will hear them. . . . I will open rivers in desolate places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water” (Isaiah 41:17-18).
*What an incredible promise of hope for someone in distress. Our God is the God of the impossible and our hope is His promise of His presence and provision. Hang on!!
*God delights in doing the unexpected, answering prayers in ways least looked for. Watch for his rivers of blessing in the desert wastelands – that may be where they are most likely to spring up!
In God’s economy, abundance is often measured in wisdom and knowledge of Himself. It is then that we are truly blessed.
Wisdom cannot be gained through intellectual pursuits. Wisdom comes only through experience.
Real wisdom comes from the kinds of experiences that come only through the deepest valley tests.
*The valley brings much fruit into our lives so that we might plant seeds into the lives of others. God does not waste valley experiences. If we are faithful in the valley, we will enter a new dimension with God that we never thought possible. There is a harvest of wisdom and virtue that can only be grown in the valley.
Has God brought you into the valley? Know that the valley is a place of fruitfulness; it is a place of testing. It is where God brings what you know in your head into your heart. The only value of knowledge is when it becomes part of your heart. Look for God in the valley today.
It would seem strange that a loving God would use such means with His children.
What we often fail to realize is that God’s measuring stick is the character and likeness of Jesus Christ Himself in each of us.
This cannot be gained through a life of ease and pleasure.
Ease and pleasure fail to refine!!!
Take heart if this is the place you find yourself, and realize that if you are faithful through the tests and valleys, you will enter a place of abundance that few will ever attain.
The darkest hour is just before daybreak.
**”We went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance” Psalm 66:12b
Lord, Jesus Knowing Our Identity in Christ is such a gift of Peace. Thank You that: We Are Blessed, We Are Chosen, We Are Adopted, We Are Accepted, We Are Redeemed, We Are Forgiven, We Are Sealed With The Holy Spirit, We Are Seated Together With Christ. Jesus thank you for tearing down the walls that divide us! May we walk more and more in the way of Unity and may we live to create Peace. Lord forgive us that A dividing wall of hostility is sometimes our own giftedness which Becomes the cause of division. And more times then not– the problem with the wall is me. Help us to speak Blessings and Peace to all with You- Jesus being at the Center of it all to give You All the Glory and Praise!
Lord, too this day I ask for a special pouring out of Your Blessings on Rosalyn and Justin on their wedding day. Give Them, their parents and other family and friends a special Peace as Rosalyn and Justin become One Flesh. Lord, fill me with Your Spirit that Your words of Truth of Encouragement flow from my mouth to lift others up also during the ceremony. May there be lives touched for your Glory. Give them the Freedom to Love as YOU have loved them. In Jesus Name, Amen.