Consolation
To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
~Isaiah 61:3
“ My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD,
Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
For whom the LORD loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives.”
~Hebrews 12:5-6
We all make the mistake during difficult times of casting the image of our former or maybe present abusers onto God. What a terrible mistake to make! Our abusers are out to victimize us, and they hurt us out of hate and out of spite. We must check our hearts, do we accuse God of the same thing? God disciplines us always out of love and never out of anything else. God is love! Whatever we endure in this life, no matter how painful it is, we can be sure that God can turn it around and get the Glory and use it for our good! God is always in control of our circumstances. Never think that something happens to you that God didn't see coming. The opposite is true, of course. God has seen the end from the beginning. God has a way of working in His mighty power where He is 100% in control of our circumstances and at the same time does not violate anyone's free will. This is how powerful our God is! Nothing happens to you that God is not in complete control over. His Word will not return to Him void and at the same time it will not violate man's free will! God's power is endless!
God will sometimes back us into a corner and isolate us from everyone. We realize in those moments that we truly love God more than we love anyone or anything else. We realize in those moments why we fight the battle of each day and who is in control of all of it. He will use each trial and struggle to tear us down in the bad areas and build us up stronger in the good areas. Oh, what a God we serve! He is constantly pursuing us and working actively on our behalf even in our sleep. He does everything with purpose which is far greater than any pain because after we have endured many trials we realize we are no longer afraid of the enemy's tactics because God will use whatever is meant for evil for our good. The enemy thinks he is in control but he is not. God constantly turns around what the enemy does for our good. God would not allow it otherwise.
After each storm of life we can expect to be consoled. Isaiah says Jesus came for it! When we are embraced by God's deep and abiding love for us we reject any notion that God could be like those who have hurt us so deep in the past. In fact, God uses those very wounds to transform us into doers of His Word and sets before us a very great purpose for which we are anointed for. Jesus paid the price for His anointing and so must we. But when we get to Heaven we realize how much greater the joy it is to have shared in Christ's sufferings and to suffer for His sake because how much more we grow and know the Lord because of all the trials and tribulations of life. We are here to be prepared for eternity and to fulfill the tasks for which we are anointed for. There is no other reason to live other than to do what God has called every one of us to do. Before we get there and while we are there we pay the price, but Christ has long since paid the price for all of our sufferings and it is only because of what He did that we are able to endure. Faith is the victory! Amen.
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
~Isaiah 61:3
“ My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD,
Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
For whom the LORD loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives.”
~Hebrews 12:5-6
We all make the mistake during difficult times of casting the image of our former or maybe present abusers onto God. What a terrible mistake to make! Our abusers are out to victimize us, and they hurt us out of hate and out of spite. We must check our hearts, do we accuse God of the same thing? God disciplines us always out of love and never out of anything else. God is love! Whatever we endure in this life, no matter how painful it is, we can be sure that God can turn it around and get the Glory and use it for our good! God is always in control of our circumstances. Never think that something happens to you that God didn't see coming. The opposite is true, of course. God has seen the end from the beginning. God has a way of working in His mighty power where He is 100% in control of our circumstances and at the same time does not violate anyone's free will. This is how powerful our God is! Nothing happens to you that God is not in complete control over. His Word will not return to Him void and at the same time it will not violate man's free will! God's power is endless!
God will sometimes back us into a corner and isolate us from everyone. We realize in those moments that we truly love God more than we love anyone or anything else. We realize in those moments why we fight the battle of each day and who is in control of all of it. He will use each trial and struggle to tear us down in the bad areas and build us up stronger in the good areas. Oh, what a God we serve! He is constantly pursuing us and working actively on our behalf even in our sleep. He does everything with purpose which is far greater than any pain because after we have endured many trials we realize we are no longer afraid of the enemy's tactics because God will use whatever is meant for evil for our good. The enemy thinks he is in control but he is not. God constantly turns around what the enemy does for our good. God would not allow it otherwise.
After each storm of life we can expect to be consoled. Isaiah says Jesus came for it! When we are embraced by God's deep and abiding love for us we reject any notion that God could be like those who have hurt us so deep in the past. In fact, God uses those very wounds to transform us into doers of His Word and sets before us a very great purpose for which we are anointed for. Jesus paid the price for His anointing and so must we. But when we get to Heaven we realize how much greater the joy it is to have shared in Christ's sufferings and to suffer for His sake because how much more we grow and know the Lord because of all the trials and tribulations of life. We are here to be prepared for eternity and to fulfill the tasks for which we are anointed for. There is no other reason to live other than to do what God has called every one of us to do. Before we get there and while we are there we pay the price, but Christ has long since paid the price for all of our sufferings and it is only because of what He did that we are able to endure. Faith is the victory! Amen.
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