How to focus on the goal of your faith in the midst of difficulties
Every day we face problems which are slowly trying to extinguish the joy that God poured into our hearts, but look what the apostle Peter said:
"And
through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you
receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day
for all to see. So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These
trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire
tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than
mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it
will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus
Christ is revealed to the whole world.
You
love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him
now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls."
And Paul reminds you, too: "Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
Then
you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can
understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in
Christ Jesus."
Remember what Jesus said, dear reader : “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? I am
leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is
a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid."
"We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.
We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. All
of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more
people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and
more glory.
That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For
our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they
produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So
we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze
on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be
gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
Don't be discouraged! Don't drop your arms! You received a promise from God, don't let it slip away. Don't think that your situation is hopeless, God is with you accompanying you, every step you take.
"So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient
endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s
will. Then you will receive all that he has promised." (Hebrews 10: 35-36 NLT)
The Scriptures I quoted: 1 Peter 1:5-9; Philippians 4:4-7;
John 14:1-2, 27; 2 Corinthians 4:7-9, 14-18.
John 14:1-2, 27; 2 Corinthians 4:7-9, 14-18.
good post! This is what God reminds me in the last weeks. Not to be frightened by the circumstances, instead to be thankful and to concentrate on Him because with Him we have no gaps. Beeing in His presence is just a wonderful feeling. I want, God to lead my life and in this way to be a blessing to others! Keep posting here because it`s a blessing for those who read it! :* love you!
ReplyDeleteYou are so sweet, my dear :) I miss your huge hugs. Thank you very much for the kind words and I'm happy God spoke to you through it! Love you too, very muuuuuch!
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