Oct 11, 2013
Read | Deuteronomy 4:7
There are many people who get stuck in life’s hard spots, too scared or too bitter to move through the difficulty. Instead, these folks wait for the Lord to remove the trial, and yet He doesn’t always work that way. But God wants His children to trust Him so they can advance through their adversity.
The way that a person responds to hardship reveals his or her true character. And tough situations are the times when God’s children most need to match actions to words. It’s easy to say, “I trust the Lord” or “My God is faithful” when life is good. But unless believers recognize that He is sovereign even in adversity, they may be tempted to complain and seek pity. Christians who trust in the Lord’s faithfulness and supremacy will steadfastly focus on Him and as a result will see their anxiety and doubt subside.
In order to conquer adversity, we must begin moving through it. Even though we may not know what God’s purpose is, it’s essential for a suffering believer to surrender to His will. We certainly won’t like the pain, and we’ll definitely want the situation to change—fast. But giving the Lord free rein allows Him to mature our faith, conform us to the likeness of His Son, and fulfill His unique plan for our lives.
Surrendering does not seem like a way to advance anywhere. But in reality, we’re just handing over the controls to God and saying, “You guide me where You want me to go.” Doing so requires a lot of trust, but we serve a Lord who is worthy of our faith and confidence.
God bless you!
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The Danger in Being a Christian: It began as a Jewish sect; fierce persecution only helped it spread Today's reading: Acts 8 Acts 8:1 On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. In some countries, a person who becomes a Christian forfeits a good education and job. And in a few countries, a person who converts risks his or her life. One church historian estimates that more Christians were martyred in the twentieth century than in all preceding centuries put together. Yet, strangely, more often than not, intense persecution of Christians leads to a spurt of growth in the church. An ancient saying expresses this phenomenon: "The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church." The First Big Advance For a while, the new faith enjoyed popular favor. But very soon it involved grave risk. In the book of Acts, the persecution that produced the first Christian martyr, St...
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