A dear friend of mine recently shared with me one of her favorite quotes. It began, “This life on earth is the closest any Believer will come to experiencing hell…”
How true that is! And every bit of this hellish experience serves a Purpose. His Purpose. Occasionally the Lord may offer individuals a glimpse of the pain and difficulty waiting down the road; more often He chooses not to do so. But there are two excellent reasons why He doesn’t need to impart that specific knowledge to us:
First, He has already warned us throughout His written word that we will face great trouble. There. Will. Be. Suffering. The details are irrelevant.
Second, He has already overpowered every enemy we collectively could possibly encounter AND He goes before us, individually—blocking or limiting obstacles, placing other Believers nearby to encourage and comfort us, and deliberately cultivating His relationship with each of us. There. Will. Be. God. The details are handled.
Far be it from me to make light of the burdens and heartache many Believers are asked to bear. My heart, my mind, cannot comprehend the breadth of suffering this world has to offer. But! Think on this: the “hell” of life in this warped, fallen existence is fleeting. Moreover, you will never have to be any farther from the Father than you find yourself in this moment. It only gets better from here, dear reader! Let’s keep pressing in.
26 comments:
That's true.
Amen to what you said. Praise God, He has a plan and He will never leave us or forsake us.
I've had "The Lost Get Found" by Britt Nicole running through my head all day. So I just kept making that my offering of worship and surrender to the Lord as I sang my way through work. ^_^ God is so Good, isn't He?
(And hello, Marla! Good to hear from you!)
"Just as a deer longs for running streams,
God, I long for you.
I am thirsty for God, for the living God!
When can I come and appear before God?
Deep is calling to deep
at the thunder of your waterfalls;
all your surging rapids and waves
are sweeping over me."
~Psalm 42:1-2,7
I love these reminders from the Lord of His ever-present provision. Here I am: thirsty and pining for His presence. And here He is: vast and engulfing--tremendous waters building behind me, sweeping me up, carrying me along, yet not engulfing or drowning me. I am always surrounded by more Water than I coul possibly take in...so He satisfies my thirst a little at a time, and moves me forward in the crushing power of His loving protection all the while.
I love that Britt Nicole song (: Such a great message and reminder to myself when I listen.
I think it's so easy to get frustrated at God, ourselves, and life because life IS hell and although it serves a purpose (a very good one!), we can't always see that purpose immediately.
Thanks for sharing ^^
Hi, Nekochan! Long time, no "see."
So true. And yet, the second half of that quotation is also frighteningly true: "...and as close as any unbeliever will come to experiencing Heaven." Even as we long for relief from this broken world, that's exactly why we're here. I don't want this life to be the closest another human being comes to knowing paradise.
So here we are: growing in grace, learning to fear the Lord, while He heals us and chooses to display flashes of His glory through our bent frames. We are so blessed, my friends!
I'm praying for you. ^_^
"But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us." "Those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son...and those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified" "Therefore, there is now there is no condemnation." "Be confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion." Do we ever lose battles?
^_^ We never lose God. And He never loses battles.
We make mistakes; often we choose the long route to growth--which means we stumble in the face of temptation and attack. But the One who loves us best and protects us always never, ever needs to resort to a Plan B. ^_^ He never loses. And our identity, our Life, is hidden in Him.
Do I lose a lot?
Anytime one of us attempts to fight on our own--in our own power--we lose. Yes, I'm sure you've lost. So have I; I'm sure I'll continue to lose many more times while I breath in the fog of this world.
But when my own power and tactics inevitably fail, I run back to the arms of my Lord...and the painful memories of getting my tail kicked makes me cling to Him more tightly.
Do you lose a lot? Probably.
But forgiveness returns the score board to zero.
And salvation adds a permanent 10,000 point advantage to the home team.
Thanks a lot. :P That makes me feel better.
Hey, the same is true of me, too. ^_^
That you lose a lot? Still... so comforting. I feel much better. And what happens all the time I AM clinging and I still lose? Then I suppose it's still my fault?
Dear heart, what we perceive as "protection" through these human eyes does not always equate with what we perceive as "winning."
When you're clinging to the Lord yet you still feel overrun, don't worry; just praise Him. Your job is to keep your eyes fixed on Him, my friend. Let Him worry about the scoreboard.
Since you're busy doing your job, I thought I'd give you an update on the score: He's still winning by at least 10,000 points. ^_^
But how do you know I'm doing my job? You may think I'm not.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding."
"The fear of Adonai leads to life; one who has it is satisfied and rests untouched by evil."
Are you measuring yourself by whether or not you can trust and fear the Lord perfectly, Imoutochan? If so, you're always going to find yourself awarding points to the enemy...
We are not able to perform perfectly. Even when we're clinging to the Lord, our human selves will never be perfect. But "His strength is made perfect in our weakness."
Walking with the Lord is Not a get-it-right-or-get-lost deal. This is a process. Growth is a journey. "A man's steps are ordered by Adonai, so how can a person understand his own way?" We're unfit to determine our own worth, my friend. Our sight, our understanding of the grand scheme is warped and bleary. So don't spend time attempting to weigh yourself accurately. You assessing you will not work--and besides, you assessing you is not the point. When you are busy trying to jjudge your own performance, your eyes are not fully focused on Him. Don't bother trying to keep track of how many points are going up on the board. ^_^ (Update: He's still over 10,000 points ahead.)
"He who pursues righteousness and kindness finds life, prosperity and honor." Just keep persuing, Imoutochan. Keep pressing in. ^_^ That's the task He's given you. "...seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Just keep persuing. He'll bring the growth, the healing, th wisdom, the "life, prosperity and honor." You're doing just fine.
(And in case you're wondering, He's still racking up the points.)
But... do I do a good job? Are you proud of me? Is Jesus proud of me?
Jesus is proud of all His lambs for hearing His voice and seeking to follow Him, for calling to Him in the midst of danger, for trusting in His protection and guidance. ^_^ You are no exception, my friend.
And as your friend and fellow sheep, I'm proud of you, too.
:D Hee-hee! "fellow sheep!" We're all in fellowsheep with each other! *laughing*
*pats head*
Jj... "Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position." Does this mean we can lose our salvation? I don't beleive we can...
The Most High God does not change. That's one thing that makes God who He IS, Imoutochan.
We can choose to walk away, or choose company that will lead us away.
Then what's it mean?
It refers to guarding against the error of others--of allowing false teaching to lead you astray. Basically, Paul is warning us not to choose deafness over the songs of the Lord, blindness over the Sight of Jesus.
Does that make sense? ^_^
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