Post by forgiven on Mar 19, 2005 5:09:55 GMT -5
Title: God's Tools
Read Psalm 34:19-22
"Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but
the Lord delivers him out of them all" (v. 19).
The psalmist does not say, "I thought the Lord
kept us out of afflictions. I thought that if I
read my Bible every day and prayed and tried to
obey His will, I would never have any
afflictions." Instead, he says that we will face
many afflictions.
Why do we have afflictions in our lives? We have
some afflictions simply because we are human.
They are just a part of human life. We get older,
and our bodies begin to run down. Not every
sickness, every accident or every problem we face
comes because God is angry at us or is
disciplining us. They may just be a part of life.
We also have afflictions because Satan is against
us. He'd love to destroy us. Or, afflictions may
come because we have disobeyed the Lord. I'm glad
for those; I'm glad that God loves me enough to
"spank" me when I've disobeyed Him.
But often, afflictions are God's tools for
helping us grow. We don't really grow until we've
been through the furnace, through the storm or
through the battle. God is not raising hothouse
plants that shrivel when the hot wind blows on
them. No, He wants to raise mature sons and
daughters, and that's why we have afflictions.
"Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but
the Lord delivers him out of them all" (v. 19).
He doesn't keep us out of them. He delivers us
from them. Sometimes He changes the
circumstances. Sometimes He changes us. The real
secret of deliverance is not the circumstance
around you but the faith within you. Expect
affliction, but trust God for deliverance.
Perhaps God's greatest use of affliction is as a
tool for helping you grow into a mature
Christian. The good news is that you may trust
Him to deliver you from your afflictions. The
next time you face affliction, trust the Lord for
your deliverance.
Author: Warren Wiersbe
_____________________________________________
Read Psalm 34:19-22
"Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but
the Lord delivers him out of them all" (v. 19).
The psalmist does not say, "I thought the Lord
kept us out of afflictions. I thought that if I
read my Bible every day and prayed and tried to
obey His will, I would never have any
afflictions." Instead, he says that we will face
many afflictions.
Why do we have afflictions in our lives? We have
some afflictions simply because we are human.
They are just a part of human life. We get older,
and our bodies begin to run down. Not every
sickness, every accident or every problem we face
comes because God is angry at us or is
disciplining us. They may just be a part of life.
We also have afflictions because Satan is against
us. He'd love to destroy us. Or, afflictions may
come because we have disobeyed the Lord. I'm glad
for those; I'm glad that God loves me enough to
"spank" me when I've disobeyed Him.
But often, afflictions are God's tools for
helping us grow. We don't really grow until we've
been through the furnace, through the storm or
through the battle. God is not raising hothouse
plants that shrivel when the hot wind blows on
them. No, He wants to raise mature sons and
daughters, and that's why we have afflictions.
"Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but
the Lord delivers him out of them all" (v. 19).
He doesn't keep us out of them. He delivers us
from them. Sometimes He changes the
circumstances. Sometimes He changes us. The real
secret of deliverance is not the circumstance
around you but the faith within you. Expect
affliction, but trust God for deliverance.
Perhaps God's greatest use of affliction is as a
tool for helping you grow into a mature
Christian. The good news is that you may trust
Him to deliver you from your afflictions. The
next time you face affliction, trust the Lord for
your deliverance.
Author: Warren Wiersbe
_____________________________________________