AFFLICTED BUT NOT AFFECTED

For You, O God, have tested us; you have refined us as silver is refined. You brought us into the net; you laid affliction on our backs. You have caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; but you brought us out to rich fulfillment (Psalm 66:10-12, NKJV).

            Notice what the Psalmist is saying. For You, O God, have tested and refined us. You brought us into the net. You laid affliction and You caused men to walk all over us. God caused all these things to happen. The question is why. The answer is in the very last sentence of this scripture. One version of the Word says, “God brought them out to rich fulfillment.” Another version says, “to a place with good things.” Lastly, another version says, “into a wealthy place.” God did not cause these afflictions to harm the children of Israel, but to bring them to a better place. May I suggest that maybe God has caused your afflictions to bring you into a better place? A better place spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and financially. You may not see it and most likely, you don’t understand it. Nevertheless, you are in the fire so that God alone can bring you out.

            GOD will not allow the fiery trials of this life to consume you. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not over flow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you (Isaiah 43:2, NKJV). GOD knows and controls all things. The mess you’re in right now, GOD has His hands in it.

            If you’ll look at Daniel, Chapter 3, you’ll see how GOD is able to bring us out of the fire unharmed. Daniel 3:27 expresses how the fire had no power, the hairs on their heads were not singed, and their garments were not affected. Later on Daniel was put into the lions den for doing what was right in the sight of GOD. Each trial he faced, GOD was right there with him. The Lord brought him out unaffected each time, and He will do the same for you. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all (Psalm 34:19, NKJV).

            Know and believe that God has blessed purposes for each trial that He allows you to face. He will bring you out stronger, better, and wiser. Continue to trust in the name of JESUS and allow Him to bring you out of your afflictions.

GOD’S WILL: PERFECT BUT NOT ALWAYS EASY

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV)

          When we as Christian’s think of God’s perfect will, we think of an unproblematic will. We get so immersed in the promise itself; that we fail to give thought to the process before the promise. To accept God’s perfect will for our lives, we may have to endure various hardships. Numerous people in the Bible had to endure adversities such as: waiting, solitude, abandonment, sickness, imprisonment, and even crucifixion to receive God’s promise. As it goes for many of us today, we too must endure throughout our hardships and trust God. My Bible says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5, NIV). There may be times in our lives where nothing seems to make any sense. Everything appears to be out of place and all seems to be hopeless. It is then that we are challenged to exercise our faith in God’s Word. God never promised that the journey to the “Promise Land” would be easy; He promised that He’d get us there. “You only need to remain calm; the Lord will fight for you." (Exodus 14:14, NCV)

          God is an engineer. He engineers circumstances and situations for our good and His eternal glory. The very circumstance that we despise may be the will of the Lord. Satan will try to tell us that we’re going the wrong way because of how it seems. The devil is a liar. When it seems that we’re the furthest from God’s will, we usually are knee deep in it. Wherever you are in the Lord, know that you’re in the right place at the right time. God has His own way of fulfilling His promises. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. (Isaiah 55:8, NKJV) Sometimes God has to hurt us to heal us; break us down to rebuild us; cleanse us first and then clothe us in His righteousness.
      
         God has innumerable promises for His people. It’s up to us to obey Him to see these promises come to pass. When and how these promises will be fulfilled is up to our Heavenly Father. He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know.” (Acts 1:7, NLT) Walking in the will of the Lord can be a blinding, scary, and an elusive experience. It can also lead to heart-ache, financial strain, and alienation. The great promise is that in the end we will be victorious and full of joy. “So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever.” (2 Corinthians 4:17, MSG) As a fellow believer, I encourage you to remain in the Lord’s will; which is perfect, but not always easy. Remember, God’s will for our lives is much greater than what we want for our lives.

God Bless

WAIT

Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation] under the Mighty Hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you (1 Peter 5:6, AMP).

Wait: to stay in one place or do nothing for a period of time until something happens or in the expectation or hope that something will happen.

Wait: to be hoping for something or on the lookout for something.

            If there is anyone who dislikes the word wait and its meaning, it’s me. I don’t like to wait for anything. I don’t want to wait in the drive-thru. I don’t want to wait in traffic. I don’t even want to wait for my clothes to dry in the dryer! Unfortunately, for me and so many others, waiting is a significant part of our walk with God. We wait for breakthroughs, healing, deliverance, and even spouses. One definition of the word wait means to do nothing expecting something to happen. How many times have we as believers have given up on waiting on God and decided to “fix” things ourselves? We get tired of doing nothing and decide to take action. The only problem with that is we end up making things worse than they were before when we decide to play God or Goddess.

            Another meaning of the word wait means to be hoping for something. While we are waiting for God to answer our prayers, we should be expecting Him to do just that. Answer us. While in expectancy, we should be preparing for the answers along with prayer and fasting. Psalm 37:7 says, be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him. God knows the appropriate time for everything. Wait.

            In the meantime, we must not give up on doing the right things. ^“Do not be deceived and deluded and misled; God will not allow Himself to be sneered at (scorned, disdained, or mocked -by mere pretensions or professions, or by His precepts being set aside.) [He inevitably deludes himself who attempts to delude God.] For whatever a man sows that and that only is what he will reap. For he who sows to his own flesh (lower nature, sensuality) will from the flesh reap decay, ruin, and destruction, but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint (Galatians 6:7-10, AMP).

            There are countless scriptures that I can provide that encourages waiting on God. Ultimately, we must be willing to wait on Him. We must be willing to have patience with Him as He is with us…everyday. God sees and has not forgotten anything. Believe that He hears your prayers and by faith receive what you’ve asked for. Continue to believe and wait. Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass (Psalm 37:5, NKJV).

            So be patient, brethren, [as you wait] till the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits expectantly for the precious harvest from the land. [See how] he keeps up his patient [vigil] over it until it receives the early and late rains. So you also must be patient. Establish your hearts [strengthen and confirm them in the final certainty], for the coming of the Lord is very near (James 5:7-8, AMP).

UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16, NIV).

                As mere victims of society, many people think or believe love to be a feeling. Love is what we do. It is an action word. John 3:16 defines the very root of love in God’s actions. First, He gave. He sacrificed something that was dear to Him for all of us. What have you sacrificed lately to show God that you love Him? Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love me, keep my commands”. We often say that we love God, but are we showing Him by keeping His commands? God makes it very clear to us that we cannot merely provide Him with lip service. We must show our love for Him by being obedient to Him. In Deuteronomy 6:5, God commands us to ^“Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength”.

                Unconditional love has no limits. God’s love towards us has no limits. Does your love for God have limits and boundaries? Will you seize to praise Him when things don’t go your way? Will you still bless His name even if it seems you aren’t blessed? Will you still keep His commands and refuse to compromise despite unfavorable circumstances in your life? How deep is your love for God?
               
               God is so generous that He first loved us. He teaches us what love is by His actions towards us. As a result, we might love Him in return, and love others unconditionally. When we understand how God loves us, we will then know how to properly love others and ourselves. God commands us to love. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love (1 John 4:8, NKJV). God desires for us to love Him so that we may learn to love our neighbor as He loves us. In John 15:12, Jesus declared, “This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you”. Think of all the mistakes, wrongs, and sins that you’ve committed against God. Nevertheless, God still loves you. He shows this by His grace & mercy towards us. He shows it by His forgiveness of our sins.

                Life’s difficult circumstances and other people’s actions may cause us to question God’s love for us. It may also cause us to compromise our integrity and disobey God. Nevertheless, we must remain in God’s unchanging love. I believe that despite life’s circumstances and disappointments, our love for God must remain unchanged. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things (1 Corinthians, 13:7). Challenge yourself today to show God how much you love Him in your actions, words, and lifestyle.

Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13, NLT).