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drained
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"In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
~ 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NKJV)
In the Message Bible, it says, "thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live."
The Bible says to give thanks in everything, not for everything. Not everything is easy to rejoice over, but God is the author of our lives, the perfecter and finisher of our faith, and He can't design bad things against us. They may appear bad for the moment, in our limited, microscopic and human perspective, but as the flow of sermons have been in the recent weeks -- He has called us all to GREAT things, and He never gives us more than we can bear.
Then I asked God, that's easier said than done, how do I find peace and joy when the rubber meets the road? Even if i know everything works out for my good in the long run, how do I find peace when I'm deep in the centre of my problem? He brought up the incident of Jesus calming the storm (Matthew 8:23-27):
And after He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly, behold, there arose a violent storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered up by the waves; but He was sleeping.
And they went and awakened Him, saying, "Lord, rescue and preserve us! We are perishing!"
And He said to them, "Why are you timid and afraid, O you of little faith?" Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great and wonderful calm (a perfect peaceableness).
And the men were stunned with bewildered wonder and marveled, saying, "What kind of Man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him!"
Jesus got up to show the disciples once again who He is, cos they've forgotten that their answer to the storm was just in the midst of them, on their own boat. It struck me that no matter what storms hit me, Jesus is IN MY BOAT. He is right in the centre of it WITH ME to stretch out his arm and command the winds and waves to still! When that realisation hit me, there was just this awesome peace that "surpasses all understanding", that I know I'm riding on the waves with the one who controls the waves in the first place....
Not because of who we are, but because of WHOSE we are, we can live life unafraid because He makes us soar above the rest and reign in life"
Plus the daily bread reminds us :
Revelation 21:1-4
1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
At such times, it helps to remember that God sees our world in its brokenness and has pledged that one day He will wipe away the old and “make all things new” (Rev. 21:5). That promise encourages us in the hardships of life, and it provides the whisper of His comfort—a whisper that can drown out even the sound of sirens.
...SO thanks to all that cared and tiff for your story of job! I know its difficult but i am going to lay everything into his hands
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