Week One - Observation 1

So - are we ready to start?  As I said, I'll be utilizing "Living Victoriously in Difficult Times" by Kay Arthur and Bob & Diane Vereen.  All quotes are taken either from this book or from the HCSB of the Bible.  The study will take six weeks, meaning that we will be at the end of August when we finish.  Can't think of a better way to get through the rest of this weird, unusually difficult summer than to spend time in God's Word hearing from Him how to handle our lives in a victorious manner, during this time or any future times of difficulty.

I'll be posting five "observations" each week.  Also, each week I will select one core Bible passage for our memorization for that week.  When I started this blog over nine years ago, my primary goal was to memorize key Scriptures so that I would have them with me whenever I needed them...if I had my Bible handy or not.  I cannot claim to have kept all 100 of those verses "hidden in my heart", but I am very appreciative that the Holy Spirit works within me to bring many of those verses to my mind when the situation calls for them. 

So, it is still a critical purpose of this blog to memorize Scripture.  I need it and you do too.  Don't let memorization intimidate you.  Just go through the process of understanding what you're storing and you'll find that the words will start to flow naturally and easily.  And don't worry about saying them word-for-word perfect.  We certainly want our memorization to keep the intent of the verse, but, for example, if you memorize "the love of each of you toward another" instead of "the love of each one of you toward one another", you've got the true meaning and you don't need to worry about the missing "ones"!  Also, I'll be using and quoting the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB), but feel free to use and memorize any version with which you are comfortable.

First week question to consider:
"Once we entrust our lives to God, are we exempt from the pain and difficulties of life?  Does our relationship with Him provide protection against suffering?"

First passage to memorize:
Philippians 1:29  "For it has been given to you on Christ's behalf not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him."

As we go through this week, this verse will become more and more meaningful to us, I believe.  There's more in there then you might first realize, so start memorizing it now and let it start soaking into your heart where you will hide it forever!

OBSERVATION 1; 

Paul was certainly no exception to a life of suffering, nor were the early Christians who came to belief through him and to whom he wrote many words of explanation and encouragement so they would understand that difficulties would be encountered and how they, and WE, should view them.

2 Thessalonians 1:3-5 "We must always thank God for you, brothers, which is fitting, since your faith is flourishing and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.  Therefore we ourselves boast about you among God's churches - about your endurance and faith in all the persecutions an afflictions you endure.  It is a clear evidence of God's righteous judgment that you will be counted worthy of God's kingdom, for which you also are suffering."

These were Paul's brothers (and sisters) in the faith - he was thankful for them and wanted them to know that.  And this Christian family of Paul's was undergoing persecution, primarily from Jews who opposed their conversions to Christianity (Acts 17:1-10) , but most likely also from Gentiles living there who saw them as radicals opposed to their immoral lifestyle and idol worship. 

Two things of note about these early Christians:  They had not just come to faith and stayed babies - their faith was flourishing - it was growing and affecting others.  Secondly, they were bound together in Christian love.  In times of difficulty, it is important for us to be in a community of believers.  This is one way the Holy Spirit supports us and grows our faith - through each other.  We are not meant to live out our Christian faith by ourselves, especially when times are rough.  I think both their active, growing faith and the strong bond of love that existed among them is what enabled the Thessalonian Christians to endure and persevere the persecution they were going through.

So now about that perseverence (endurance in HCSB)...one of the things I really enjoy about Kay Arthur's studies is that she always explains the real meaning of words in their Biblical context.  Perseverance is the Greek word hupomone, which means "patience or endurance in difficult circumstances."  In our current difficult circumstances (both personal and global), how are we doing in that regard?  Are we handling them patiently, knowing that God is working all things together for our good (Romans 8:8), or are we grumbling, moaning and voicing dismay over what we think the future may hold?  Persevere doesn't mean to just make it through the difficulty, it means to make it through patiently...and what I read into that as well, is to make it through with peace and contentment.

Which brings us to the other attribute Paul brags about regarding the Thessalonian believers: their faith.  The Greek word used for faith in this verse is pistis, which means "to believe, to be fully persuaded; belief with the predominant idea of trust."  When we have this kind of faith, not a baby faith of first belief, but a strong conviction of the truth of God our Father, Jesus our Savior and the Holy Spirit our Comforter; when we have come to a maturity in our faith where we can sincerely say we trust our lives to our God, then we can accept less than ideal circumstances and accept the trials that may come to us, knowing that God is good, that God knows all, and that He is walking with us through whatever we are going through.  Our faith in God also reassures us that it is His strength that will allow us to persevere, not ours, and that we can lean into Him when we are weak.

As I've come to say, "Whatever happens to us here, it's only our little earth story - one which will seem very unimportant the minute we cross into eternity." 

In closing, here's a question to ponder:  "If Paul were describing your faith, in what ways would his description differ from or be similar to what he has to say about the Christians of Thessalonica?"

Love to hear your comments!  Let's use this time to share and grow with each other -

In His Amazing Love,

Janice