John Hagee said, “when
trouble grows, your character shows.”
Our experiences with life
lead us to see and embrace the purpose that we were created for. We were created to live with purpose, and that
purpose is a gift from our creator and savior.
When we are squeezed or
beaten or punished or accused, what comes out of us? Our experiences when look at or deal with it all
in the wrong way lead us to lean on ourselves or to think we are hopeless,
helpless and headed nowhere. That could
not be more wrong.
God brought us this
far. God has blessed us in the
process. There’s more to come!
3 All
praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father
and the source of all comfort. 4 He
comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are
troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 5 For the more we suffer for
Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. 6 Even when we are weighed down
with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are
comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the
same things we suffer. 7 We
are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the
comfort God gives us. 8 We
think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went
through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our
ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. 9 In fact, we expected to die.
But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on
God, who raises the dead. 10 And
he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have
placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us. 11 And you are helping us by
praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because God has graciously
answered so many prayers for our safety.
God is our source of
purpose. He gives us a plan. And He gets all, I mean all the glory. God is in charge. He has our lives and all things around it in
His control and in His hands. It is time
for us to align our lives with this truth.
That leads us to live a life of giving.
I pray that The Community
Fellowship people will be known for being givers, for being generous. That is something we plan to be. It becomes more natural the closer we get to
God.
God comforts us in times of
trouble and beyond. The reason we have
this awesome comfort and strength so we comfort others. The suffering for Christ is our example. There is a purpose for everything, and God
works in the middle of every part of it.
God intends for us to have
confidence in Christ when we struggle. Paul
said his our situations / experience was real.
He was crushed, overwhelmed and even thought he would die. The struggles are read.
But the result because we
follow Christ is that Paul and his companions stopped relying on themselves and
began to lean on God. This verse ends
with a reassurance because God can raise the dead. He seeks to remind us that God will help us
in our struggle, and He is able to do anything including raising the dead.
Paul went on to we have been
rescued from physical danger, and that God will rescue them again. Paul’s confidence rested in God alone. Our part is to pray, to believe God and to
press on. God has a plan.
To pray without
expectation is to misunderstand the whole concept of prayer and relationship
with God. -- A W
Tozer
May God help us grasp our
purpose, endure struggles and fully rely on Him beginning with our prayer lives
getting stronger and stronger.
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