Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though something strange were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that at the revelation of His glory you may also rejoice and be overjoyed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory, and of God, rests upon you. Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name. For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, what will become of the godless man and the sinner? Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God are to entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right. 1 Peter 4:12-19 NASB
Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. LUKE 6:38 When Elijah met the widow of Zarephath, she was locked in the clutches of a handful of meal and a tiny bit of oil. That’s all she had. We can sympathize with her. In fact, some of us can identify with her. And Elijah’s heart went out to her. The difference was that he knew something she didn’t know. He knew that the way to have what you have and have it to the fullest is to always put God first. That’s why he said, “Make me a little cake first.” In other words, “Trust God by putting Him first and watch what He does.” When we first see this woman in the story, she is clutching everything she has. At the end of the story, she is releasing it all to God. The way to have what you have is to give it back to God. That is the only way you can ever possess your possessions. If you give it back to God with open hands, He will not only bless you, He will also put back what you need. - Dr. David Jeremiah Morning and Evening
I would be lying if I was saying that I am alright. Because I am not.
I would be deceiving both you and myself in the process.
I am not ashamed at this juncture of my life, to be completely honest and open with all of you because of both God's work in me and in being compelled to write as He directs me to write.
To say the least life right now is just very hard. So much is going on in so many ways that I can't keep up. Distressed is a very apt feeling for me. We are in the midst of moving and just when it appeared that we were making some forward strides, setbacks hit, again.
These last 11 months, soon to be the whole year, have indeed been stressful. 2020 honestly was a cakewalk compared to 2021. Job changes at my now former employer pushed me in being serious about looking elsewhere. My health hit a wall that I had absolutely no ability to avoid. My Spiritual life was still in its struggles in regards to finding a church home. We had been to many churches in 21 years here. None felt like home nor did we get the impression from God to stay there. We couldn't establish firm relationships with those attending those places.
If you’ve been reading the posts of the last month you know of the recent struggles of moving that have been incredibly hard on my Wife and I. We have been forced to live in two cities due to my job being where we are trying to move to. Our lives have been largely been put on hold because we have had to box up everything.
We are confused about the why's behind many setbacks. Oh the Spiritual warfare is exceedingly great. It's caused me to write out what God's doing in me more often than I ever expected or honestly desired. Some probably think I am complaining too much.
Life just hurts right now and it's not complaining when we are commanded, it wasn't a Scriptural suggestion, to bear one another’s burdens. Burdens aren't just what you physically see as needs. People who are in Christ need the support of other Christians. Other Christians are part of the body of Christ and have a role and responsibility to help those in the body. Read Paul talk about it to the Corinthian Church.
I hurt, but, do know that if you look it up at all concerning growth in Christ Jesus its going to hurt. If you aren't experiencing growth then what are you doing in regards to your faith in Christ?
There have been people who have expressed the view that wherever my Wife and I go there's difficulties. That's not the right viewpoint at all. God's been trying to use others to help us in our growing in Christ and those He brings into our lives are rejecting His commands to aid in our growth. The core reason for our "hard road" has to do with others more than it has to do with us. We want to grow in Christ. Our chief reason for moving isn't my job. It's growth in Christ and we have an enemy who's bent on not wanting that to happen.
Read what Peter said as well. If Christ suffered, so will those who are in Christ Jesus.
In the things that God's desiring to do in my life its not essential that I have an excellent job. It IS essential that in all areas of my life that I look to Him in obedience. It may hurt, and my Dear Readers, it IS hurting very much. To move because of wanting God's Will, our sanctification, is hurting very much. We are indeed focused on the physical move, the physical things to let go of, etc.
But the Spiritual move, the Spiritual things to keep and thoughts and ideas to let go of are even more important.
It does not do any good to move on the pretext of God’s sanctification and do nothing different when we get there.
My hurting, my expressions of my thoughts to all of you isn't complaining.
It's the reality of Spiritual change and growth. I am being challenged and changed to be the man of God whom is His workmanship. I have things yet to do when my growth in Christ is more in alignment with God’s Will.
If you are indeed a brother or sister in Christ, I covet your prayers.
If all this suffering isn't appealing to you, ask yourself why. If you aren't a Christian then honestly, you cannot know enough to understand yet. Your present sufferings are all worldly based and you've been alone in them. Those in Christ Jesus are never alone in them.
Yes, I am hurting. Yes, I have been crying to my Savior. His Word says no tear escapes His notice. He will act, He will do what's needed to come to my aid.
He has something grand in mind in our new hometown if the struggles to get there are this great.
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