Happy Resurrection Sunday! We have hope, we have life, we have love because Jesus is alive!
“And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.”
“For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried. You brought us into the net; you laid a crushing burden on our backs; you let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.” Psalm 66:10-12
God may test us, God may allow difficult circumstances in our lives, but God’s purpose is not to leave us broken or burdened, but to bring us to a place of abundance. So do not fear when times are hard. Do not worry about the future. Our lives are in the loving hands of a sovereign God, and he intends all things for good and not for calamity, for those who call upon his name.
These are the privileges of his children that trials cannot take away. In our hardest times, we see the salvation and deliverance of God. He will not abandon or forsake his beloved. Therefore, when that discouragement or loss feels heavy, give it to Jesus. Give it to Jesus.
“Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.”
You are a child or God. You were made in this world, but you were made for another world.
“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.”
Do you ever feel like your past prevents you from doing great things for the Lord? God does great things through us not because of who we are but because of who he is. Nothing limits God, not even our past mistakes. When we live a surrendered life — a life of obedience and faith — we see him do the supernatural.
Ecclesiastes 11:5 says "Just as you'll never understand the mystery of life forming in a pregnant woman, so you'll never understand the mystery at work in all that God does."
“Thus the Lord gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. And the Lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the Lord had given all their enemies into their hands. Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.”
Everytime I read through my Bible, I am reminded that God takes care of his children. We may go through difficult seasons and the storms of life, but he is present. He never forsakes us. We have nothing to fear when we are in the center of his will — loving him, obeying him, worshipping him, honoring him and glorifying him.
“Thus the Lord gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. And the Lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the Lord had given all their enemies into their hands. Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.”
With all the difficult trials we face, we need to celebrate daily progress, no matter how small. As long as the curve is upward, that’s a win! And when some days are harder than others, then we just keep getting back up again and trying, and that’s also a win!
God has given us a spirit of power, not of fear or timidity! This relates, more importantly, to doing his gospel work and his will with the abilities he has given us, even when we face trials and challenges. ❤️
“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord…,”