Normally my thoughts reflect from one or two daily devotionals I read, In Touch Ministries and or Our Daily Bread. This morning however I want to include a prayer service my family and I went to last night. During the service it became very clear that God's presence was in the building. Before all was said and done I felt peace. Here lately I have been struggling with myself and at war spiritually. As uneasiness in my life grew I began to question and doubt. During the service I gave this over to God. I prayed for forgiveness, guidance, and His strength, among other things.
In the In Touch devotional Charles Stanley comments on how we will often say "God is good!" Most of the time we say this when times are good and everything is great in our lives. Too often we forget that God is good all the time. Even as we struggle and our lives appear a wreck God is good. As we are faced with hardships we might not understand why God would allow us to endure them. As we endure them God is still good. Once all is said and done and our lives once again are going good can you see God's hand at work? When we make mistakes and bring hardships upon ourselves we need to remember God. If we allow him to work in our lives, specially through the bad times, God can use it for His glory. If we allow him to work in us through these difficult times He can be glorified. We do not know whose life we can touch because of the experience. We do not know how we can be a benefit to someone else who struggles. We can become stronger in faith and grow into a deeper relationship with Christ because of it.
God will sometimes take us through the fiery furnace. He will allow us to go through hardships and bad times. The question is how will we respond? How will we react? Once through the furnace we can glorify God or we can be consumed by it. If we allow God to work in our lives and trust in Him He will see us through it. Then we may never know how many lives we can lead to Christ because of it. Daniel 3:16-29shows us how God can deliver us through the fire and how He can be glorified by it...
In the end God will grant us peace if we seek Him. During the service for the first time in a long time I found God's peace and rest. I pray that you too will find His peace. I pray that you will allow God to work in your life. I pray that you allow him to work through you and in you as you go through hardships and trails. I pray that through all that happens He may use you to be glorified...
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Scripture Verse:
Matthew 11:27-29 (New International Version)
Matthew 11:27-29 (New International Version)
27"All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
28"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Romans 1:16 (New International Version)
16I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
In Christ,
Jason A. Ponzio
"In God We Trust"
In Touch Ministries
Our Daily Bread
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