All About GOD - Growing Relationships with Jesus and Others
Difficult Situations
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Leonard T on
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It begins with the understanding that one's life is upside down and without the ability to correct it on one's own. Then we take our eyes off of ourselves and focus on God, the One who proclaims He created us, and for His good pleasure. He proclaims He loves us, and has demonstrated that love by coming to earth and dying on the cross, noting He did this while we were yet sinners (Rom. 5:8). He did not tell us to get our lives cleaned up and come to Him, but rather calls to us in our brokenness asking us to come to Him so that He may save us and begin to bring our lives into alignment with Him and ultimately into the likeness of His Son, our Lord Jesus.
I will add that religion tells us to get our lives fixed and then come to God. God says that our lives without Him will always remain broken, even if by societal standards they look pretty good.
Thus, I do not find strength and courage to kneel before Almighty God, but rather in the presence of Almighty God I have no other response but to kneel at His feet. Even if I were a perfect man, which I am not, the right response before Almighty God, who is holy, just and righteous, is to kneel before Him ... our God, Savior, Creator, Sustainer, Provider and most importantly to me ... my Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name ....
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Permalink Reply by Will on
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This was very helpful..thank you so much brethren..may the Lord Almighty continue to bless you
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Permalink Reply by Mary O on
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Hi Will, God bless you!
Posing questions...What if your life is a mess because you haven't knelt before the Lord? What if He's just itching for you to come to Him? I can't believe I said itching, but I can't think of a better word. If you can think of a better word, put it in there, okay? What if the Lord is not parked on His throne, but standing up and saying...Come on kid, come to me. He's on your side, you know that right? What if He just wants to see you make Him Lord and trust Him?
He already knows we have flaws and that we mess up, and He loves us anyway. There isn't anything that can separate you from the love of Christ. Romans 8 is awesome. I remember that cold empty feeling without God. It's dark and empty. It's good to come into God's living room. Come in out of the cold. It's warm and loving. There's light and Holy Spirit fire. Sure, there's problems. We all have them. But there's love, peace, joy. Look at the difference. He's there with you. You're not facing things alone. God doesn't leave you or forsake you. God's going to love you forever.
Love,
Mary
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I just have to keep the faith and let GOD take control. I can't make it on my own..
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Permalink Reply by Mysty on
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Will, as odd as this might sound, when I stopped caring is when I started to care. I just gave up and surrendered to the world. That was 4 years ago and I never would of believed that my life would ever be good never mind being great as it is today. I hope this helps.
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yes it helped Mysty. thank you so much but when in difficult situations its hard to think of a way forward because all you think about are your troubles you can't help it but wonder if your life will ever change. no money for tuition you will be asking yourself will I ever finish college.
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Yes Will, feeling as you do is a terrible place to be. So many times I have stopped and rethought my path, goals and desires then go into contemplative/meditation for hours or just quiet time without thinking and worrying about my dilemma. More times than not I get a "zing" of enlightenment. We are all different on how we go to God. I hope you find your solution.
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Permalink Reply by Tammy on
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The Seminary of Suffering
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
This is God’s universal purpose for all Christian suffering: more contentment in God and less satisfaction in self and the world. I have never heard anyone say, “The really deep lessons of life have come through times of ease and comfort.”
But I have heard strong saints say, “Every significant advance I have ever made in grasping the depths of God’s love and growing deep with him has come through suffering.”
The pearl of greatest price is the glory of Christ.
Thus, Paul stresses that in our sufferings the glory of Christ’s all-sufficient grace is magnified. If we rely on him in our calamity and he sustains our “rejoicing in hope,” then he is shown to be the all-satisfying God of grace and strength that he is.
If we hold fast to him “when all around our soul gives way,” then we show that he is more to be desired than all we have lost.
Christ said to the suffering apostle, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul responded to this: “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9–10).
So suffering clearly is designed by God not only as a way to wean Christians off of self and onto grace, but also as a way to spotlight that grace and make it shine. That is precisely what faith does; it magnifies Christ’s future grace.
The deep things of life in God are discovered in suffering. --John Piper
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Permalink Reply by Carla on
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I agree with some of what Piper says here...the general idea that suffering can serve to bring us closer to Him, but sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes people become bitter and wander away from God--I believe this happens when the person has insufficient understanding of who God is.
However, I strongly disagree with this "So suffering clearly is designed by God..." It's like saying God caused the suffering. I don't believe this aligns with who God is.
Suffering in my understanding is due to a few different variables. The strongest one being that we live in a fallen world where everything is affected by the 'curse' of sin. Sin caused the suffering. Sin designed the suffering, NOT God. God redeems it by using it to shape us into who He has designed us to be. That's what Romans 8:28 means.... 28 And we know that God causes everything to work together[m] for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
We need to be sure that we love Him, and then we can be confident that no matter what, He will work all things for our good according to the purpose He has called us to.
We can be confident of these wonderful promises in Romans chapter 8:
35 "Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”[o]) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[p] neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Suffering is a fact of life in this world because we may cause it ourselves due to our own actions. We may be innocent in it, and somehow be victimized. We may also just be subject to it because we have been born into sin just as the entire world has been born into sin...not because of personal sin. If God designs suffering in a person's life to somehow get their attention, that is His business, and it is personal between that person and God...but I don't think we can say that God generally does that for all people....The thought of this just doesn't sit right with me.
I agree that the deep things of life in God are discovered in suffering, but I would disagree that God designs it.
Thoughts?
Carla
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