You look like so many adjectives.

GALATIANS 6:9 ESV
9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

What should you do when it seems like God has forgotten you and you are about to perish?

Act on God’s Word! Speak to the mountain! Rejoice in the Lord! Stand in faith! Continue to thank God! Expect God’s help! Don’t ever give in or give up!

Realize God is not the problem. God is perfect. He never fails and never makes a mistake. God is helping you as much as you are allowing Him.

You probably do need to change some things. After all, none of us are perfectly mature yet. We are all learning and growing.

But don’t make the mistake of putting yourself down and accepting the devil’s idea that you are so hopeless that nothing can work out for you.

God will gently guide you in making whatever changes you need to make. God is there to help you, not to condemn you.

If it does not seem like things are working out, then your faith is being tested. But God is not testing your faith, it is the devil. The purpose of this testing is to get you to turn loose of your faith — to change what you believe.

So just keep on doing what you know is right. Don’t change your beliefs about God. He is still good. Keep trusting Him. Keep believing that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him — that it pays to walk with God (Hebrews 11:6).

We should not be surprised at a fiery trial of faith. The Bible warned us these things would come.

1 PETER 4:12 ESV
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

Jesus said there would be tribulation. He told us we would be persecuted.

We are also warned that we must “hold fast” to our confession. We must continue to stand in faith, regardless of what hits us.

HEBREWS 4:14 ESV
14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

HEBREWS 10:23 ESV
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

If we always perfectly understood everything that was happening, there would be no temptation to doubt.

We are still growing and learning so we don’t yet understand everything. But just because we don’t understand what is happening is no reason to doubt God, His Word, and His goodness.

SAY THIS: Even in the dark, I will still trust God, for He is good and never fails.

Really needed this today!

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

- 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)

Jerry Greenfield studied pre-med and graduated from college in 1973. In the late 1970s, after two failed attempts to get into medical school, Jerry and one of his life long buddies decided to create their own business. They considered opening a bagel shop, but ultimately they decided on an ice cream parlorbecause the required equipment was less expensive. They borrowed money from a local banker and enlisted friends to renovate a dilapidated gas station in Vermont to peddle their pints of ice cream. 

Jerry worked on their ice cream recipes, and his buddy did the taste testing. Every time his friend, Ben, tried a sample, he complained that it was too bland. A puzzled Jerry couldn’t believe it since he had already added four times the recommended amount of flavor to each recipe! Soon he realized that Ben’s sinus problems were thwarting his taste buds! But Ben’s “weakness” led to flavors that garnered rave reviews from ice cream lovers far and wide…leading to today’s ice cream conglomerate-Ben and Jerry’s!

To think that someone with dulled, practically non-existent taste buds ended up becoming the co-founder of one of the world’s leading ice-cream manufacturers is truly a lesson for all of us. God gives all of us special talents and abilities, but He also allows weakness in our lives. In the New Testament, Paul says something that goes against everything our culture stands for. He says he will “boast” about his weakness, because in his weakness, Christ’s strength is made perfect. Don’t be afraid to acknowledge your weaknesses. Everyone has them, and it’s an opportunity to let God’s power shine through you. Paul celebrated the fact that he gained strength through Christ, saying, “For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10 NIV).What are your strengths and weaknesses? Think about it and ask God to make you strong through your weaknesses.

VERSE:
  But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
    — 2 Corinthians 12:9
  
THOUGHT:
  When I pray, I often catch myself simply wanting God to do what I want, not necessarily what is best or most expedient for those around me or for the good of the Kingdom. I don’t like to hear that God told Paul that he had asked enough about deliverance from his problem. Instead, Paul needed to learn that God’s gracious strength and mercy were enough to sustain him even in trial. While I know I need to learn this same lesson, it is daunting. I want God to keep things nice and tidy for me. But then I remember I am a follower of Christ. If I am to become like my Savior, then I have to let go of my requirements on God’s answers and open up to God’s work to redeem others through me, no matter the personal cost. Only then can I truly know that his grace is sufficient for me!

PRAYER:
  Patient and loving Shepherd, guard my heart from discouragement in tough times and guard it from arrogance in good times. I know that without you I have nothing that is permanent. Thanks for giving me a permanent, steadfast hope of heaven with you, because of your grace and strength shared with me. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

“The rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house …”

                              - Matthew 7:25 (NLT)

We’re prone to making a serious mistake as it relates to suffering, and that is believing that suffering is supposed to be an exceptional or strange feature in life.

It works like this: Something comes crashing into our world, and because we’re accustomed to comfort and peace, we see it as a foreign object that requires immediate removal. And when it isn’t removed, we find it strange and unsettling. “This shouldn’t be happening to me! What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with my life?”

The answer is nothing. Nothing is wrong because trials are part of the package of being human. Earth is an imperfect place, and that means the rain will come in torrents, floodwaters are going to rise, and winds are going to beat against us. Trials are inevitable because that’s just the way of life on this planet that we all occupy.

We can try to protect and insulate ourselves against suffering, but sooner or later it’s going to catch up with us. Whether it’s unexpected or it’s anticipated, something in life is going to break: a discouraging diagnosis, the loss of a loved one, or a “can’t miss” opportunity that misses the mark in a major way. There’s going to be something, and there’s nothing we’re going to be able to do stop it.

What does this mean for us? It means the objective shouldn’t be to avoid suffering at all costs. Instead, we should understand that it’s going to happen and take refuge in the One who has the power to preserve us through our suffering. Jesus didn’t say the storms of life might come; He guaranteed they would. When we understand this, we will be better prepared for their arrival.

God’s command is, “Take now,” not later. It is incredible how we debate! We know something is right, but we try to find excuses for not doing it immediately. If we are to climb to the height God reveals, it can never be done later— it must be done now. And the sacrifice must be worked through our will before we actually perform it.

“So Abraham rose early in the morning … and went to the place of which God had told him” (Genesis 22:3). Oh, the wonderful simplicity of Abraham! When God spoke, he did not “confer with flesh and blood” (Galatians 1:16). Beware when you want to “confer with flesh and blood” or even your own thoughts, insights, or understandings— anything that is not based on your personal relationship with God. These are all things that compete with and hinder obedience to God.

Abraham did not choose what the sacrifice would be. Always guard against self-chosen service for God. Self-sacrifice may be a disease that impairs your service. If God has made your cup sweet, drink it with grace; or even if He has made it bitter, drink it in communion with Him. If the providential will of God means a hard and difficult time for you, go through it. But never decide the place of your own martyrdom, as if to say, “I will only go to there, but no farther.” God chose the test for Abraham, and Abraham neither delayed nor protested, but steadily obeyed. If you are not living in touch with God, it is easy to blame Him or pass judgment on Him. You must go through the trial before you have any right to pronounce a verdict, because by going through the trial you learn to know God better. God is working in us to reach His highest goals until His purpose and our purpose become one.

“Faith … gives us assurance about things we cannot see”
                              - Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)

As you make your way through God’s Word, it doesn’t take long before you start to notice a trend-God is very interested in producing faith in His people. By faith, we’re referring to the description given above: Faith is what enables us to be certain about the things that we can’t see.

This goes against human nature, which is sensory-driven. Human nature defines reality based on the evidence that can be acquired through our sense of sight, sound, taste, touch, and hearing. God wants us to live on a higher level. He wants us to define reality based on who He is and what He has said. And it takes faith in order to do that. It takes trust in things that we can’t see.

One of the most common objections to prayer is that you can’t physically see whom you’re talking to. “If I could just see God on His throne surrounded by a multitude of angels, then I’d pray for sure.”

But again, God doesn’t want us to be creatures that are limited to our senses. He wants us to be people of faith, and it’s no coincidence that something as central to our spiritual well-being as prayer really requires us to trust in what we can’t see. Prayer is God’s way of keeping us on the faith-track.

But prayer doesn’t just require faith, it also builds it. Whenever we experience spiritual realities in prayer, whether it’s an answer to prayer or hearing God’s still, small voice, it strengthens our confidence in those things. The fact that we can’t see whom we’re praying to speaks of God’s love for us, because by not showing Himself to us, He’s showing us how to walk and grow in faith.

“‘I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.’”
                              - Job 42:2 (NKJV)

Our God can do anything. Hear that again: Our God can do anything. Do you really believe that? Not just theoretically or theologically, but do you believe that practically? How is it impacting your life at this very moment?

What do you mean? All of us experience things beyond our ability to control. It may be a doctor’s diagnosis that seems insurmountable or a financial predicament that seems inescapable. Some of us may be desperate to see a relationship restored, but the flickering flame of hope was snuffed out a long time ago.

Listen, whatever dilemma you might be facing, however overwhelming your circumstances may be, God has all power over absolutely all of it. The theological term for this attribute of God is omnipotence (omni meaning all, and potency meaning power). Practically speaking, it means nothing can affect us or even touch us that God can’t handle.

At the end of the day, our hope securely resides in God’s omnipotence. It’s the ultimate game-changing factor in life. It doesn’t matter how bleak, grim, dismal, or dour a situation may seem. All that ultimately matters is that we have a Heavenly Father who can do anything. Anything.

“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me? (Jeremiah 32:27 NKJV)

But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26 NKJV)

“For with God nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:37 NKJV)

God’s omnipotence…believe it and receive it into every corner of your life.

There are certain “givens” in God’s universe, and one of them is this: Humility is always a good thing. No matter what the situation or circumstance; no matter who, what, where, when, or how; God desires for us to be humble people. And God gives those who have this quality the guarantee that He will guide and teach them.

It’s worth mentioning that being humble doesn’t mean being down on one’s self. Oh, I’m no good at that. I could never accomplish something like that. Humility isn’t a matter of being defeated or depressed. In fact, depression and defeatism are actually subtle forms of pride, because they’re essentially self-centered when you get right down to it.

Genuine humility, the kind of humility God desires, isn’t self-centered but simply self-aware. It has an accurate understanding of one’s place in this world. It understands its limitations apart from God-and at the same time its ability in God.

Interestingly enough, the Hebrew word here for humble carries the connotation of “learning through suffering.” The idea is that a person goes through a painful process of realizing their weaknesses and limitations as they navigate this world. Just as they start to think they’ve got it all together, God allows something to happen to prove just how undone they are without Him.

That’s the kind of humility we all need to possess. We need to be self-aware and in tune with how un-together we are. And as we are, we’ll have the kind of hearts God can guide and teach.

Lord, help us to have the sort of self-awareness about our limitations that produces humility. Protect us from any attitude that would prevent us from being led and taught by You.