- Joined
- Oct 26, 2007
- Messages
- 12,539
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. Psalm 34:19 ESV
God, and God’s principles, and life’s difficulties, haven’t changed over time. David’s psalms aren’t just stories about someone who lived a long time ago. They’re stories about you and your life too.
The apostle Paul said it well: “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4 ESV).
The great paradox of life is that suffering and humility are necessary steps to God’s best in your life. You see that in Romans chapter 5, in James chapter 1, in 1 Peter chapters 1-5, and many other scripture passages, including today’s Old Testament scripture reading.
That God’s preparation and training program for you includes hardships and trials is a very unpopular and countercultural message. You would much rather enjoy a nice, comfortable lifestyle perpetually free of pain and suffering. But you might as well face reality.
In David’s psalms, you don’t hear God’s perspective much at all, but His fingerprints are everywhere. They help you see God behind the scenes, at work in and through the narrative of your life. Because the reality is, God is always doing something bigger than you can see.
In the meantime, stop dreaming about Easy Street.
Prayer: Lord, transform me. Transform my dreams. May I see Your fingerprints scattered everywhere throughout my life.
God, and God’s principles, and life’s difficulties, haven’t changed over time. David’s psalms aren’t just stories about someone who lived a long time ago. They’re stories about you and your life too.
The apostle Paul said it well: “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4 ESV).
The great paradox of life is that suffering and humility are necessary steps to God’s best in your life. You see that in Romans chapter 5, in James chapter 1, in 1 Peter chapters 1-5, and many other scripture passages, including today’s Old Testament scripture reading.
That God’s preparation and training program for you includes hardships and trials is a very unpopular and countercultural message. You would much rather enjoy a nice, comfortable lifestyle perpetually free of pain and suffering. But you might as well face reality.
In David’s psalms, you don’t hear God’s perspective much at all, but His fingerprints are everywhere. They help you see God behind the scenes, at work in and through the narrative of your life. Because the reality is, God is always doing something bigger than you can see.
In the meantime, stop dreaming about Easy Street.
Prayer: Lord, transform me. Transform my dreams. May I see Your fingerprints scattered everywhere throughout my life.
