GOD
HAS PURPOSE IN AFFLICTION FOR HIS CHILD
BREAD
3 Praise
be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has
given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil
or fade--kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until
the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In
this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to
suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith--of greater worth
than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine
and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though
you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now,
you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for
you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:3-9 (NIV)
7 Endure
hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not
disciplined by his father? 8 If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes
discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9 Moreover,
we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it.
How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10 Our
fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God
disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11 No
discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it
produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained
by it. Hebrews 12:7-11 (NIV)
2 Consider
it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because
you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance
must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking
anything. James 1:2-4 (NIV)
7 To
keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great
revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to
torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away
from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace
is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s
power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in
weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For
when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians
12:7-10 (NIV)
1 How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day
have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? 3 Look
on me and answer, O LORD my God. Give
light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death; 4 my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall. 5 But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in
your salvation. 6 I
will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me. Psalms 13:1-6 (NIV)
31 For
men are not cast off by the Lord forever.
32 Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so
great is his unfailing love. 33 For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to
the children of men. Lamentations
3:31-33 (NIV)
1 When the LORD brought back the captives to Zion, we were
like men who dreamed. 2 Our
mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was
said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.” 3 The
LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. 4 Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negev.
Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. 6 He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return
with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.
Psalms 126:1-6 (NIV)
92 If
your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. 93 I
will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life. Psalms 119:92-93 (NIV)
32 “Now
therefore, O our God, the great, mighty and awesome God, who keeps his covenant
of love, do not let all this hardship seem trifling in your eyes.” Nehemiah 9:32 (NIV)
BUTTER
“There are many blessings to be learned in
the furnace of affliction. It teaches us
compassion for others in a suffering condition, and to value our earthly
comforts more without doting upon them.
We are blessed when sufferings conform us to Jesus Christ, and lead us
to prayer. Man is never in a happier
condition than when his heart is in a praying frame. Affliction makes us more acquainted with the
Bible, and teaches us to weep over grieving God’s Holy Spirit. Affliction teaches us to long for heaven, and
to redeem the time. A
teaching-affliction is a part of the covenant of grace. It does not contain freedom from affliction,
but from the evil of sin. The rod and
Word are blessed.” Thomas Case
“God’s grace will always be sufficient for
those who trust Him. The hope we taste
in the promises we trust will often be the sweetest thing we experience in this
age. And the reward of God’s fulfillment
of these promises will be glorious beyond our imagination.” Jon Bloom
“God's children
run home when the storm comes. It is the heaven-born instinct of a gracious
soul to seek shelter from all ills beneath the wings of Jehovah. "He who
has made God his refuge" might serve as the title of a true believer.” C. H. Spurgeon
revised by
Alistair Begg
“Nothing teaches
us about the preciousness of the Creator as much as when we learn the emptiness
of everything else. Turning away with bitter scorn from earth's hives, where we
find no honey but many sharp stings, we rejoice in Him whose faithful word is
sweeter than honey or the honeycomb.”
C. H. Spurgeon revised by Alistair Begg
“A
fixed, constant attention to the promises, and a firm belief in them, would
prevent solicitude and anxiety about the concerns of this life. It would keep
the mind quiet and composed in every change, and support and keep up our
sinking spirits under the several troubles of life….Christians deprive
themselves of their most solid comforts by their unbelief and forgetfulness of
God’s promises. For there is no
extremity so great but there are promises suitable to it, and abundantly
sufficient for our relief in it.” Samuel
Clarke
“God
will never permit any troubles to come upon us unless He has a specific plan by
which great blessing can come out of the difficulty.” Peter Marshall
“For the child of the King, it is such blessing to walk with
God “in the cool of the day” free from worry, anxiety and fear. He Who loves us with an everlasting love, Who
rejoices over us with singing, Who covers us with His feathers and under Whose
wings we find refuge is our security in this fallen and very, very difficult
world – the land of dragons. He doesn’t
remove our trials, He bestows grace sufficient to meet our needs and by the
difficulty, through His power, our faith is strengthened and a harvest of
righteousness and peace is produced in our lives. He is always faithful in this task. Don’t flee from Him when troubles come our
way (even by our own doings) rather run to Him.
He’s calling you.” BHY
HEART SAVOR
- · God is working all things out for both our good and His glory: 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. 31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:28-31 (NIV)
- ·
Discipline
produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained
by it.
- ·
God does not
willingly bring affliction and grief to His children and only allows what we
eventually bless us.
