“One of the main ways we move from abstract knowledge about God to a personal encounter with him as a living reality is through the furnace of affliction.”
― Timothy J. Keller, Walking with God through Pain and Suffering
― Timothy J. Keller, Walking with God through Pain and Suffering
HABAKKUK
17Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
18yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
19The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights.(3:17-19)
REVELATION 14
There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” 12This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.
13Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”
“Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”
JOURNAL
The purpose of following and worshiping God is not for immediate gratification of material wants. God is not a trinket God. This can be no clearer than in these verses because those that follow God endure great suffering. Yet it is in this faith that purpose, strength and comfort are found.
Following God in the midst of suffering is what produces courage and love and faith and joy. The temptation often is to run from pain and suffering...to avoid them at all cost. Yet doing so may be a path away from God rather than to him. This is one of the great paradoxes of life...taking the hard path often produces the greatest rewards. The point though is not to seek the harder path just for the sake getting a better reward, but seeking God which then often leads to taking the more difficult road. Which in turn leads to greater joy and purpose.
The purpose of following and worshiping God is not for immediate gratification of material wants. God is not a trinket God. This can be no clearer than in these verses because those that follow God endure great suffering. Yet it is in this faith that purpose, strength and comfort are found.
Following God in the midst of suffering is what produces courage and love and faith and joy. The temptation often is to run from pain and suffering...to avoid them at all cost. Yet doing so may be a path away from God rather than to him. This is one of the great paradoxes of life...taking the hard path often produces the greatest rewards. The point though is not to seek the harder path just for the sake getting a better reward, but seeking God which then often leads to taking the more difficult road. Which in turn leads to greater joy and purpose.
Following God in the midst of suffering is what produces courage and love and faith and joy. The temptation often is to run from pain and suffering...to avoid them at all cost. Yet doing so may be a path away from God rather than to him. This is one of the great paradoxes of life...taking the hard path often produces the greatest rewards. The point though is not to seek the harder path just for the sake getting a better reward, but seeking God which then often leads to taking the more difficult road. Which in turn leads to greater joy and purpose.
12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
ROMANS 12:12-13
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