Title Purpose-Driven Life (25) Difficulties...
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Purpose Driven Life (25) Changes Caused by Difficulties
Text: 2 Corinthians 4:17 For our light affliction, which is for a little while, works for us an exceedingly great and eternal weight of glory.
Behind every problem is God's purpose. The purpose is to bring us closer to God by making us look to God through those problems, relying on Him more than ourselves, and learning about God that we cannot learn through other means through suffering. Our human folly is that, in peace and prosperity, we do not seek God with our whole heart and live a life of exalting ourselves rather than exalting God. God, who knows our foolishness, does not rely on him and sometimes gives tribulation to his beloved children who do not seek him, so that they can forcefully seek God.
When parents do not discipline their children even after committing a mistake, it is when the parents regard their children as abandoned children. Or if he is a stepchild and not a true son. Whether it is suffering as a means of discipline or suffering for the sake of Christ, we may face difficulties. But Paul says that our afflictions in this life are temporary and light. Those who are currently in tribulation say that their suffering is the greatest and that no one in the world can ever comprehend how great their suffering is. But even the greatest pain in this world is only a temporary pain that will stop when you reach the end of your life.
There are two kinds of pain, one is Tunnel pain and the other is Cave pain. Tunnel pain is pain with an end. The pain seems to be endlessly long, but it is a pain that disappears just as light comes when you reach the end of the tunnel, which was a series of darkness. The torment of the cave is endless torment. The pain does not go away and is always trapped in that cave. The sufferings of this world, great or light, are all but the sufferings of a tunnel with an end.
The greater the faith in God, the shorter the tunnel length. We do not regard suffering as suffering, but rather as a means of God's refinement, so we praise and give thanks to God. The agony of the cave is a perpetual one given to the unbeliever, who will find that with the end of the world the pain will not go away, but greater suffering awaits. This suffering is eternal death and suffering that follows the death of the body, but has no end to death and suffering. No matter how great the pain we experience in this life is felt, those who endure it with faith looking to God and relying on God will receive an exceedingly great and eternal glory that cannot be compared with this suffering.
All those who are subject to the phenomenon of life, old age, sickness and death, to varying degrees, are experiencing tribulation. Those who do not seek God in the midst of various afflictions will find grave afflictions waiting for him, but they will praise God even in the midst of unbearable afflictions, because they depend on God, and to those who live, they will dwell in eternal glory, where they will be considered light will be
Because God controls all things under absolute sovereignty, all unexpected events are God's plan for us, and all have spiritual significance. Romans 8:28-29 explains why. “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For those whom God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”
1. Understanding Romans 8:28-29
1) What we know: We have hope based on the truth that God rules the universe and loves us.
2) To those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose: This promise is only for children who love God.
3) Everything: God can bring good out of everything that happens to us: mistakes, sins, wounds, debts, sickness, divorce, and even the death of loved ones.
4) Together: The events of our lives are not independent of each other, but interdependent in the process of becoming like Jesus, so God creates a blessed result by weaving even painful experiences.
Ex) Just like flour, salt, egg, oil, etc., which are necessary to bake bread, do not taste very good when eaten separately, and are even bitter, but when baked together, it becomes delicious bread.
5) It works for good: Because God's purpose is greater than our problems, our sufferings, and our sins, He works through them all for good.
6) God .... Foreordained: Our lives are not the result of chance, fate, or luck, but a masterpiece designed and made by God. History is His (Jesus) story. History is He Story
7) That he might be the firstborn among many brothers: God's purpose is to transform us like the Son of God through all the problems of our lives.
2. Building a Christlike Personality
God cuts and shapes us with the hammer and chisel of adversity to make jewels like Jesus. He does not exclude us from the loneliness, temptation, criticism, rejection, and many problems that Jesus experienced, but allows us to go through them and makes us like Jesus.
3. Dealing with Problems Like Jesus
1) We must remember that God's plans are always good.
If we look only at this world, we will despair, if we look inside us, we will be discouraged, but if we look to Christ, we can rest. The secret to perseverance is to remember that suffering has an end and the reward is eternal.
2) Rejoice and give thanks to God.
We can be grateful that God uses our pain and problems to accomplish His goals, and we can rejoice in knowing that He is with us in that suffering.
3) Don't give up.
Because becoming like Jesus is a long and slow process, when we experience pain in our lives, we pray "Please make me more like you" rather than "Comfort me" and pray "Why me?" rather than "Why me?" in difficult situations. What do you want me to learn?"
When you ask yourself this question, trust God more and never give up on continuing to do what is right, you will have the eternal consequences of a Jesus-like personality.
Day 25 / About the purpose of my life
Point to Ponder: Behind every problem is God's purpose.
Memorable Words: “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
The question that leaves my life: What problems did I grow up the most?
“The fire of pain makes holy gold”
MadameGuyon