Sometimes, I just want the battle to go away. I get tired of all my snarling GIANTS. Don't we all? None of us wish for more trials!
I mean think of it...surely Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego prayed to be spared from the furnace. Surely, Abraham had to have wished that Isaac wouldn't have taken so long. Daniel couldn't have wished to be thrown into a den of lions...
And yet, their stories, their struggles, their moment of God's intervention provide so much peace and hope when my trials grow large. After all, if God did it for them...SURELY He can do it for me.
I can honestly say, I have NEVER...nor will I ever ask God to send me more battles...I NEVER ask for Him to send me more suffering...YET...the intimacy and faith born in those moments of affliction are inescapable. The tests reveal a greater revelation of His goodness and the testimony birthed from those circumstances serves as a bridge for others to cross over.
2 Corinthians 1:3-5 says, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows." (NIV)
Don't misunderstand me. I'm NOT saying suffering is fun. I'm NOT saying we should become self proclaimed martyrs or go looking for trouble. BUT I am saying that Jesus promised that in this world we would have tribulation, but to be of good cheer because He overcame the world. Friend, from our "test" comes our "testimony."
We may face battles right now and feel like giving up...like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego we may be hoping that God spares us from the fiery furnace...like Abraham, we may be tired of waiting...like Daniel, we may feel surrounded by lions...But whatever our situation, we must remember--God showed up in the fiery furnace and saved Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego...He fulfilled His promise to Abraham...He shut the mouths of Daniel's lions...AND hold fast to the promise that He is with us too!!!
Psalm 34:7-10 says, "The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing." (NIV)
Today, I simply want to encourage you. Don't give up! God is near! He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bare. He will provide a way of escape. He is faithful!
Julie, this post hits home with me so much and it is so encouraging. I can testify over and over again to that the faith and intimacy born during those moments. I have never felt closer to the Lord, more protected and more comforted then in those moments. He used those trials to transform my heart and my life. Amen!
ReplyDelete:) Tammy, I can't wait to meet you in person and hear more of your testimony!
ReplyDeletehi Miss Julie, thank you for this post, it's a comfort, I've been through a lot,,, i feel like giving up but these words of yours has brought me to realization that God is bigger than these giants.
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