All tagged hardship

Being Strengthened IN Suffering Life’s Trials

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Life’s Trials

We want to live easy happy lives, but trouble always seems to find us. In the midst of them we cry out to the Lord for relief, and to have mercy on us, but these are the very times that strengthen us most, and prepare us for what lies ahead in our service to God. David would not have been the king that he was had he not first faced Goliath, been pursued by King Saul, or lusted for Bathsheba, and faced the repercussions of that sin. All of the hard things in our lives temper us, and by going through them we are made stronger. We are not made stronger BY our distress, but IN it.

Trials, Choices, and our Lessons of Faith

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Trials and Faith

When we face trials in our lives God will teach us lessons in faith through them, and the hardships we encounter will be of varying degrees, but every once in a while we will face one that is so overwhelming, and so devastating, that it shakes our faith to its very core, and those are the storms that break loose the loose debris of our self-imposed religion. These are the disasters that leave us with only the cornerstone of Jesus, and the solid foundational stones of God standing. It is in such times, when we think all is lost, that we will find our belief is still intact beneath the rubble, and that the things of God which are firm, and never changing have not only survived, but have become more deeply imbedded in us. Each of us will go through minor tremors, and fires of varying degrees, but when that magnitude 10 quake comes, or the fierce fires rage, what will we find standing when their dust has settled?

Job, Jesus, and how we are Victorious

Richard Forbes
Trials and Faith

Do we endure hardship in our lives to bring the message of salvation, of Jesus, to the lost? Is our road to that place where we can have a gospel conversation, or deliver the good news of Christ, fraught with pain, suffering, and challenging trials? We endure such events in our lives because they polish us spiritually, and reveal the stark contrast of our faith as it is compared to the world. Our suffering, like Job’s, and the passion of Jesus, defines our belief, and without the battles we face, there could be no victory in our lives. Are we victorious through our hardships, and tribulation?

Facing the Uncertainties, and Trials of Life

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Trials

What do we do when we are faced with certain calamity, or we are required to make a decision in a situation that has no obvious answer? Well, the solution is not to cower in fear, or throw up our hands in surrender, no, like in all things that require us to exceed our ability, we are to turn to God for His strength, rescue, provision, or an answer. We are to seek Him, and then stand firm. Times like this require that we wait on the Lord our God to take action, speak wisdom to us, or show us an escape. In such situations we will surely see the hand of God in a powerful way.

Receiving the Blessings of God, Great and Small

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Blessings

Each morning when I wake up I thank God for the day, and the many blessings of the day before. I also pray the He forgives me for my sins, ask for the salvation of the souls of those around me, and many other things, but I always conclude my early morning prayers by asking Him to keep His hand on me during the day, and to continue blessing me. However, when I ask for His blessing I fully understand that those blessings come in many forms. I might receive some by joyfully being in His presence, I might happily get additional pay at work, or meet a new person who I can share the gospel with, but blessings don’t always come wrapped in happiness, sometimes they are born of terrible suffering and hardship. You see, our greatest blessings are spiritual in nature, and those quite often rise up from hard times. Are you in the midst of a storm in your life?

His will, or our will; which is it that glorifies God?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , God’s Will , Hardship and Suffering

In the course of our faith we have contemplated our travail, tribulation, and the trouble they present us. Jesus thought on this same subject, and after having reached an understanding of their importance to faith He concluded that He would not ask God to save Him from it, but acknowledge God’s will in it. Are we courageous enough to face what lies ahead before us, and grasp, as Jesus did, the purpose God has for us in our suffering?