It's easy to get busy with SURVIVAL in this strange part of the world. So busy (surviving) that you tend to forget the very reason for being here.
Nothing is easy here (except for sweating). For so long a time it feels like all my energy is spent to just stay afloat. And before I knew it, I found myself in a place where it's become an immense burden to be here, to do my duty for God's kingdom.
And of course, when the going gets real tough, so does the passion, energy and self-discipline to persevere in Truth. To choose to have faith when nothing around you says: "God cares for me"...... feeling like God has punished you by assigning this fate to you. As your prayer life takes on a bleak hue, you begin to long for true spiritual fellowship, or just a single worship service in a language that you can understand.
One morning I sat myself down to quiet time, not expecting much. Asking the Holy Spirit to lead me in truth as I spent time in the Word, I stumbled upon this very unfamiliar verse.
I was taken aback by this truth. I realised that if God (supposedly) never gave me one good thing after salvation, then I am still BLESSED, HAPPY and TO BE ENVIED. For I am called blessed, happy and to be envied because I have been given the only thing in this life that really matters.... redemption. I am NOT called blessed, happy and to be envied because I have a wonderful life full of the things I love. Neither am I NOT blessed, not happy and not to be envied simply because I have a difficult life full of sacrifices for His sake.
Of course this Bible verse isn't a magic wand which you simply wave around every time things get tough and all turns to rainbows and unicorns. But it is Truth with the power to renew our mindsets, to look at suffering from another perspective. No matter what state you (or any aspects of your life) are currently in, no matter how hopeless you feel, you are still blessed, happy and to be envied, because you've received a free gift from God, salvation.
I hope that you are encouraged by this as much as I have been. Hold on to this Truth, especially in times when you don't feel like it... Just hold on! You are not forgotten or unloved by God... in fact, He calls you blessed, happy and to be envied.
Write in on your fridge, learn it by heart, contemplate it and definitely preach it to yourself!
Nothing is easy here (except for sweating). For so long a time it feels like all my energy is spent to just stay afloat. And before I knew it, I found myself in a place where it's become an immense burden to be here, to do my duty for God's kingdom.
And of course, when the going gets real tough, so does the passion, energy and self-discipline to persevere in Truth. To choose to have faith when nothing around you says: "God cares for me"...... feeling like God has punished you by assigning this fate to you. As your prayer life takes on a bleak hue, you begin to long for true spiritual fellowship, or just a single worship service in a language that you can understand.
One morning I sat myself down to quiet time, not expecting much. Asking the Holy Spirit to lead me in truth as I spent time in the Word, I stumbled upon this very unfamiliar verse.
I was taken aback by this truth. I realised that if God (supposedly) never gave me one good thing after salvation, then I am still BLESSED, HAPPY and TO BE ENVIED. For I am called blessed, happy and to be envied because I have been given the only thing in this life that really matters.... redemption. I am NOT called blessed, happy and to be envied because I have a wonderful life full of the things I love. Neither am I NOT blessed, not happy and not to be envied simply because I have a difficult life full of sacrifices for His sake.
Of course this Bible verse isn't a magic wand which you simply wave around every time things get tough and all turns to rainbows and unicorns. But it is Truth with the power to renew our mindsets, to look at suffering from another perspective. No matter what state you (or any aspects of your life) are currently in, no matter how hopeless you feel, you are still blessed, happy and to be envied, because you've received a free gift from God, salvation.
I hope that you are encouraged by this as much as I have been. Hold on to this Truth, especially in times when you don't feel like it... Just hold on! You are not forgotten or unloved by God... in fact, He calls you blessed, happy and to be envied.
Write in on your fridge, learn it by heart, contemplate it and definitely preach it to yourself!
Ons is baie baie lief vir julle en ons bid elke dag vir blessings op jul bediening asook uithouvermoë in die klein en groot challenges.
ReplyDeleteMarish