Christ gave His life for you. What have you given Him?
Mark 12:30 – And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
Sadness has been an epidemic, therefore, happiness has become a prescription. Happiness has become a quest as to many who have not construed life as its ultimate purpose - to glorify God. Our finite minds see people only as what they appear to be so called "happy", but does it really interpret what is deemed inward? Can happiness be just superficial?
Evidently, there are many medical prescriptions a doctor may give for his patients' wellness and so there are diverse ways one can achieve happiness. As medical prescriptions are made for sustaining life, worldly objects are used for obtaining happiness. Some may consider money as their happiness, positions, events, lovedones or even self. These, however, do not suffice one's fulfillment as they are but just temporal. Being happy is good, but on the contrary, it becomes curse when God is not in it. It may become a stumbling block or a wall too high it looms and threatens our service to God. Being happy is good -- best when God is in it. It's JOY nonetheless.
What's in it for me?
1. Life has NO REAL GUARANTEES
James 4:14 -14Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
Clearly, the Bible tells us that there's no guarantee for tomorrow. Earthly investments have no guarantees. A storm may sweep through and for all we know, all has vanished. Psalm39:6 - Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.
1 John 2:17 - And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
2. Life has NO GOOD PROPS to hold us up
We can't depend on material prosperity for fulfillment in life. It is only God who gives and only He can give us real joy, joy that can give us fulfillment.
Positions, wealth and abilities are but props. They will not complete you.(Psalm 33:16-17 16There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength. 17An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.). Neither lords nor kings can proclaim anything that would suffice Christ's sacrifice on the cross for our sins. Completeness is in Jesus, the only one who can satisfy our soul.
We can never trust gods in this world . (Is. 42:17: 17They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.).
3. There's a REMARKABLE PRIVILEGE for believers
Can we say, "...yet I will rejoice with the Lord of my salvation" in the midst of trouble? (Habakkuk 3:18: 18Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.; Psalm 35:9: 9And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD: it shall rejoice in his salvation.)
God's promises alone are enough to sustain us in the midst of troubled times.
We are called to deal with the things of today and trust that the God who knows our name has our lives in His hands. Our answer comes with repentance, then realigning our heart with God’s promise to meet our needs, so then can we be truly happy inside out.
A friend heartens us with honesty
and cannot be hampered by jealousy
A friend sharpens with loyalty
and gives us more sense of security
A friend brings up help in times of need,
gives earnest, wise counsel, and takes heed
A friend nurtures our abilities,
instills us without prejudice
Wounds from a friend can be trusted,
it empowers us as it can be expected
A friend affirms our strengths strongly
and deals with our weakness firmly but gently
How wonderful one's life can be
If God is my friend, so can you be.
Matthew 21:21
Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.
God trieth our hearts when we speak to ourselves and cry though we, most often, become reluctant to surrender to God. Mostly, mans’ actions have reasons…”because of…”, “I am happy because of…”, “I serve God because of…”. How about the reverse?- Inspite of.
There’s a Godly reaction in trials and that is pure joy. Usually, the reverse happens, but the Bible tells us, consider it Joy (James 1:2). Happiness is dependent on happenings and outward events that is why it is impossible to be happy when there is trial but there's joy. Joy does not depend on events but our relationship with God that’s why it never changes whatever happens.
Why does God try our hearts?
1. God trieth our hearts even if we are saved because God is dealing with us in every personal way in our problems.
God is in the business of molding, educating us and not frustrating us or break us. God knows every man, sees our pain and difficulties in life.
We've may have heard about the Potter and Clay analogy and probably other teachings about the subject. We can all agree that the potter decides, before he begins to build, the object he's going to create. In his mind, he already knows what the clay will become and has planned out his way of accomplishing what he has determined for the clay to become. The potter is not dependent on how the clay would respond nor consults to it prior to shaping. Therefore, every step he takes in the molding and making of his creation is to accomplish just one purpose: make the clay into what he has predestined it to be.
The same is true for God and us. He is the Potter and we are simply the clay. He is not dependent on us, rather we are dependent on Him. Though we have the ability and vision to make ourselves as we wish to be, however, it is the Holy Spirit who instills us in shaping our lives according to God's will if we only let Him. He is the one who predetermines on what we are to become.
Are we going to yield into His shaping?
Resolving our problems and not seeing the end of it or how God gets us there doesn't mean God will not be able to accomplish it.
It takes the sincerity of the heart to cry to God. Jonah prayed from the deepest part of his heart despite his frustration, being a total failure. God dealt with him in a very personal way, unique, in a fish belly (Jonah 2:1-9).
2. God trieth our hearts because He wants to know their predicaments.
Holiness and perfection are requirements in heaven, but no one is perfect until Jesus walked in to save us. (Col. 2:13-14). God wants us to look farther so as one can say, “This too shall pass…” God knows we will go into predicaments and He doesn't desert us, instead, He has various ways to rescue us. We face fears and most likely try to get away with it, but waiting for God is His means of rescuing us from predicaments we put ourselves into.
3. God trieth our hearts to determine whether we believe Him or not.
Daniel was caught praying. As a mandatory, King Darius had Daniel thrown into the lions' den. Of course he remained true to his God since he had made nothing wrong, in fact, he was found favorable in God's sight. Daniel was pulled out from the den and, since then, the King was overjoyed because Daniel believed God. (John 5:12-13) Darkness comes even to the faithful, however, God is positioning us to a better level of life. God trieth us because He wants us to believe in Him and trust His promises, so let’s claim God’s promises. Know that there is God. All we need to do is get near Him.
There is hope. There is joy.
4. God trieth our hearts to let us know that He cares even when no one does.
People want to feel good when good times come but give up when rough times occur. We then tend to cling on to conventional friends, brothers and sisters, parents, and spouses, but the Lord Himself considers us not just servants, but as friends (John 15:15).
One preacher said, “A few quality friends will make life very wonderful.” How delightful it is to know that God can be our friend.
It is inevitable for us Christians to having challenges in different aspects in life that we begin to think, "Does God really care for me?” Truly, no one else in this universe deserves ALL the honor and glory but God. Yes! All things were created by Him and for Him (Colossians 1:16-17; Romans 11:36). Even trials and hardships are still to be thanked for.
Rely on God even for the things we’ve not foreseen. So as to keep track with our relationship with God, He has allowed these to try to keep us bonded to Him.
Rely on God even for the things we’ve not foreseen. So as to keep track with our relationship with God, He has allowed these to try to keep us bonded to Him.
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