Have you ever exhibited the directives we're given in this verse only to have a non-believer turn the tables on you?
You are being joyful in the midst of trial---leaning on the hope that your faith provides, and someone says, "You're in denial, you're not being realistic, you need to face the facts." What they don't understand is that you have faced the facts...you are being completely realistic...it's just that your reality is not theirs. Your reality says, "God is able." Your reality says, "God is in control." Your reality says, "God loves me and God is working good on my behalf." THAT's why you can have a joy that they don't get.
You are being patient in affliction---trusting God to carry you through, and someone says, "This is not fair, you do not deserve this, you need to do something." It's really easy to buy into that one, isn't it? But God's Word says that tough times allow God to develop character traits in us that otherwise we would never acquire, and that there is a purpose in those times. We truly can get better, not bitter, when we go through the down times of life. THAT's why you can get through times not only with perseverance but with patience, while they don't have any reason to do so.
You are being persistent in prayer---knowing God hears you and knowing He cares, and someone says, "You've got to be kidding! You really think that God, if there is a God, cares about your personal problems. You are a dot in the sphere of the universe...if He is out there, He's not worried about you." But you know that God does care, that He does know you, and that He knows you in an incredibly personal way. He knows your heart, He knows what you have already gone through and what you are currently facing. And He knows what is yet to come in your life and what strengths you need to develop now to make you strong enough then. THAT's why you continue to pray, even when others may mock you, because you know He hears and He cares.
Don't get discouraged when you are doing what God has asked you to do and others don't get it. They don't get it. They can't.
1 Corinthians 2:14
The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
We, as believers in Jesus Christ, have the Holy Spirit living within us, enabling us to understand things that seem very foreign and very non-sensible to the non-believer. But do not let their lack of understanding cause you to doubt what you are told through the Word of God...His Word tells us to rejoice in hope, be patient in affliction, be persistent in prayer.
Do that - it is what God wants to see in your life.
You are being joyful in the midst of trial---leaning on the hope that your faith provides, and someone says, "You're in denial, you're not being realistic, you need to face the facts." What they don't understand is that you have faced the facts...you are being completely realistic...it's just that your reality is not theirs. Your reality says, "God is able." Your reality says, "God is in control." Your reality says, "God loves me and God is working good on my behalf." THAT's why you can have a joy that they don't get.
You are being patient in affliction---trusting God to carry you through, and someone says, "This is not fair, you do not deserve this, you need to do something." It's really easy to buy into that one, isn't it? But God's Word says that tough times allow God to develop character traits in us that otherwise we would never acquire, and that there is a purpose in those times. We truly can get better, not bitter, when we go through the down times of life. THAT's why you can get through times not only with perseverance but with patience, while they don't have any reason to do so.
You are being persistent in prayer---knowing God hears you and knowing He cares, and someone says, "You've got to be kidding! You really think that God, if there is a God, cares about your personal problems. You are a dot in the sphere of the universe...if He is out there, He's not worried about you." But you know that God does care, that He does know you, and that He knows you in an incredibly personal way. He knows your heart, He knows what you have already gone through and what you are currently facing. And He knows what is yet to come in your life and what strengths you need to develop now to make you strong enough then. THAT's why you continue to pray, even when others may mock you, because you know He hears and He cares.
Don't get discouraged when you are doing what God has asked you to do and others don't get it. They don't get it. They can't.
1 Corinthians 2:14
The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
We, as believers in Jesus Christ, have the Holy Spirit living within us, enabling us to understand things that seem very foreign and very non-sensible to the non-believer. But do not let their lack of understanding cause you to doubt what you are told through the Word of God...His Word tells us to rejoice in hope, be patient in affliction, be persistent in prayer.
Do that - it is what God wants to see in your life.
1 comment:
I feel that I have hope in the Power of God, and that I am patient waiting for God's timing for His Will to intervene in my life and make the changes I feel are needed. I have set aside daily prayer and meditation time to speak to God. I haven't been as faithful in my past as I am now. I am attempting to be persistent in my pursuit of God's Word. I don't remember ever having a non-believer turn the tables on me. I have had a sister, who is a believer, become so distraught that I think she lost her hope and faith in God's abilities to bring her up from despair and into patiently waiting for God's timing. I tried to comfort her but, we,
as believers, must reach deep down into our hearts and deep into our convictions
and trust God in our times of trials and disappointments. When we are hurting so
badly and feel alone we must remember we are not alone. Outside bible study
groups, church, and other ministering agents of God is sometimes not enough. It
is our own personal relationship with Christ that comforts us. We have to feel His
presence within us. Then, we can have hope and patience in God's plan for our
lives. I know God wants me to endure more gracefully and persist more
fervently, and remain faithful in Him and to rejoice that I have a Savior watching
over me.
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