Devotions - Prayer
* Suffering either gives me my self or it destroys my self.
Hebrews 5:8 though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.
When life tumbles in, leaving us mystified, are we allowing God to plant Hope, Love, Freedom and Faith in our minds and hearts? Do we humbly recognize his inscrutable wisdom?
If we are faithful to do our part, God will always be faithful to do His!
* “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”James 4:8
But those who suffer He delivers in their suffering; He speaks to them in their affliction. – Job 36:15
*God’s ways are not our ways.
* His preparation of His warriors seems cruel and hurtful at times.
*God’s ways are much higher than ours. **Trust the God of the universe that He CAN orchestrate the events of your life when they seem the darkest.
What shall I say? Father, save me, from this hour? But for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify Thy name. — John 12:27-29
My attitude as a saint to sorrow and difficulty is Not to ask that they may be prevented, but to ask that I may Preserve the self God created me to be through every fire of sorrow.
*** Our Lord received Himself in the fire of sorrow, He was saved not from the hour, but OUT of the hour.
*Lord I ask that you help us learn to pray to grow nearer to you. To hear your voice and follow your will. Lord I ask too that you show us your good and perfect plans. Father thank you for your love and your unending promises and grace.
We say that there ought to be no sorrow, but there is sorrow, and we have to receive ourselves in its fires.
* If we try and evade sorrow, refuse to lay our account with it, we are foolish. *Sorrow is one of the biggest facts in life; it is no use saying sorrow ought not to be.
**Sin and sorrow and suffering are, and it is not for us to say that God has made a mistake in allowing them.
*Sorrow burns up a great amount of shallowness, but it does not always make a man better.
* Suffering either gives me my self or it destroys my self.
* If a man has not been through the fires of sorrow, he is apt to be contemptuous, he has no time for you. *If you receive yourself in the fires of sorrow, God will make you nourishment for other people
I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes–I, and not another (Job 19:25-27a).
This is one of the great words of faith in the Old Testament,of the resurrection of the body found in the Word of God.
Slowly, through the anguish and gloom of this man’s heart, born out of the passion and the pathos that he feels, comes the dawning realization that God is working out a great and mighty Purpose, and that one of these days God Himself (Job has never failed to see God’s great majesty and power) shall be visibly present before people.
*God is working out a purpose!!!
“How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?” (Ps 13:1-2).
When David wrote his psalms he was honest about what he was feeling. However, David never stayed in the place of despair. He often ended his psalms like this one.
*** “But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me” (Ps 13:5-6).
David chooses to focus on what God HAS DONE for him, not what He has not done.
*David’s situation did not change from verse 1 to verse 5, but his Perspective and Attitude changed. He was wrestling with God’s timing, plan, attention…but ultimately David trusts in God’s love and remembers God’s favor and faithfulness to him.
*If you are waiting for a breakthrough with God, be honest with Him about your hopes, concerns and dreams.Pray!
* However, also affirm your Faith and Trust in Him to accomplish HIS Purposes through your life.
In times of despair, it is harder to hold on than to give up. BUt if we give up on the LORD, we give in to a life of DESPAIR.
God forgive me for NOT consistently praising Your name. You are great and worthy to be praised for all that You have done and will do.
Thank You, Lord, that You have sent Jesus to be my Redeemer, and I can trust that You are working out Your purposes even through my current sufferings. Help me to accept what You have in store for me and move forward as the sphere in which I am to live to the glory of God.
Father, thank You for the encouragement I receive from Your Perfect Word in the Bible through the Holy Spirit. Help me to take heart in what trials and sufferings I may be going through and know that You will bring me through.
I thank you God for always being so great to me. Even in my times of heartache and suffering you were there to lean on. I will Never forget how kind You have been to me and how great You are today. To God be the Glory. Forever and Ever. Amen
1 Peter 2: 20…But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. 21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: 22 Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth; 23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness by whose stripes you were healed. 25 For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Read MoreBitterness causes even the most intelligent and rational person to lose control and drown
in negativity. Until we uproot our bitterness, we will never overcome any of our other
flaws.
Do not make everything a battle. Do not let the root of bitterness enter your heart, even in
the face of adversity. We must be strong in the Faith and the Spirit of the Lord.
The Root of Bitterness
“See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause
trouble and defile many.” Hebrews 12:15
*The Lord has gone before you and established the path to liberty.
*The Lord IS the way, the truth and the life. Hear the sound of His voice as He calls you
to come out of darkness into light and out of bondage into freedom!!!!
Your righteousness is of Him if you will accept it and live in the reality of redemption.
There are no valid excuses for staying in darkness or bondage, for the Lord IS the way-
maker. The Lord has made a way for you. Come forth into the glorious light.
The victory that overcomes the works is our faith. In order to access the grace of God
you must recklessly believe the truth in spite of circumstance.
*Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the
law of sin and death.
The enemy of our souls has a very specific strategy to destroy relationships.
Whether these relationships are in business, marriage, or friendships, the strategy is the
same. A conflict arises, judgments are made, and feelings are hurt.
What happens next is the defining point of whether the enemy gains a foothold, or the
grace of God covers the wrong.
When a root of bitterness is allowed to be planted and grown, it not only affects that
person, but it also affects all others who are involved. It is like a cancer.
Breaking satan’s foothold requires at least one person to press into God’s grace.
It cannot happen when either party “feels” like it, for none of us will ever feel like
forgiving.
None of us feel like talking when we have been hurt.
Our natural response is to withdraw or lash out at the offending party.
It is only obedience that allows God’s grace to cover the wrongs incurred. This grace
prevents the parties from becoming victims who will seek compensation for their pain.
The next time you are hurt by someone, realize the gravity of the crossroads where you
find yourself.
Choose grace instead of bitterness. Then you will be free to move past the hurt, and a
root of bitterness will not be given opportunity to grow.
Before worshiping God, the priests of ancient Israel practiced an “Inner Court Ritual” in
order to purify themselves. We as believers can also purify our hearts by:
(1) Recognizing sin
(2) Repenting of sin
(3) Relinquishing sin to God
(4) Replacing sin with truth from God’s Word.
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own
possession…”1 Peter 2:9
Once we have confessed and repented of our sins, we must relinquish them to God. He
will not violate our free will by taking them from us, so we must choose to hand them
over.
*”As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from
us.”Psalm 103:12
Controlling Anger
1. Recognize the root of your anger (Heb. 12:15)
2. Confess it to God (Prov. 16:7)
3. Make an effort to make things right with the offended (Matt. 5:23-24)
4. Choose to forgive others (Mark 11:25-26)
He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty (Proverbs 16:32)
*Forgiveness doesn’t make THEM right, but it makes YOU free!
*Harboring unforgiveness blocks out the goodness of God in our lives. We poisoned
ourselves and finally choked on that poison.
God wants us to be compassionate to others. Even our enemies.
Compassion- A feeling of deep pity for someone who is going through a tough situation,
and having a strong desire to disperse the suffering.
***Compassion is Love in Action.
Compassion is to look past another’s sins.
God want’s us to be people of compassion. We are all sinful, and if Jesus hadn’t have had
compassion we wouldn’t be saved.
Jesus’ ultimate compassion has saved me. We all need Jesus.
We need to bring our friends to Jesus. There are different ways to go about it. But we
need to get them to The Cure (Jesus)!!
Luke 15:20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his
father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced
him, and kissed him”.
Our compassion will push us past our excuses. We need to have compassion for people.
If you will cooperate with the work the Lord is doing in you and in His Body, the Lord
will bring you into a wide place, and you will be released from restrictions that have kept
you from moving forward freely with the flow of His Spirit. Some of these restrictions
have been the result of your interaction with other people, and some restrictions have
been of your own making and choices. Now is the time when you can establish yourself
in greater freedom than you have ever known.
* John 8:32 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
“Our danger is to water down God’s word to suit ourselves. God never fits His word to
suit me; He fits me to suit His word”.
5 reasons bitterness is called a root:
1) it is hidden. unseen.
2) it prefers darkness to SONlight.
3) it loves dirt.
4) it gets deeper and stronger the longer its allowed to live.
5) it produces its fruit and poisons many others as it continues to spread.
How do I forgive those who hurt me?
1) Pray for those who hurt you. Matthew 5:44.
2) Forgive as you have been forgiven. Colossians 3:13
Father, reveal to me where I may be harboring anything against anyone. Convict my
heart and give me the strength to forgive. All things are possible through you.
Heavenly Father I come to your Throne of blessings and provision and ask that you
strengthen my convictions and confidence in you. Amen
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