Word 4 U 2day/STRESS TESTING

[ladylovesJesus]

STRESS TESTING

'Rise up ... take courage and do it' Ezra 10:4

Everyone loves a good firework. Accelerating into the night sky, showering vibrant colours and erupting with sound - they're exciting, but they quickly fade. We can be like fireworks, but it may be that God wants us to be more like fires. If you're more 'firework' than 'fire that works', it's worth asking yourself what's going on. Great ideas and visions can quickly burn in our hearts, but without the courage and commitment to see things through to completion, you won't have the finished article. The metal used to make the wings of an aeroplane is put through stress testing, and so will you be.

When turbulence hits, do you find you're more aluminium can than jet fighter metal? Tests and trials might freak you out, but one of their main aims is to find out where you're at and what you know; an honest assessment is no bad thing. God's not expecting one hundred per cent from you, but He does want you to bounce back again. 'The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again' (Proverbs 24:16 NLT). Stay committed, in spite of the difficulties, and God's precious metal will be revealed in you.

What now? Take an empty drinks can and squeeze it with your hand. Then take a full, new can and try to crush that. Any difference? Be filled with God's Spirit!

written by Bob Gass

 

[Snowrose]

Hello LadylovesJesus,

I will admit I read these occasionally but when I do, the Lord always speaks to me through them. Today it was a comfirmation of His word that I have been hearing this week. A couple of days ago I read this by Rick Joyner via Elijah List:

Proverbs 24:16 states, "A righteous man falls seven times, but rises again." Many seem to believe that the righteous cannot fall at all, but James assured us that "we all stumble in many ways" (see James 3:2). We all will make mistakes, but "the righteous" do not let those mistakes keep them down. I felt the Lord explained this to me that our failures do not displease Him as much as our getting back up after we have stumbled and continuing to fight on pleases Him.

And a few weeks before that while studying Psalm 27:14, I read its commentary through Barnes Notes:

Wait on the Lord - This is the sum of all the instruction in the psalm; the main lesson which the psalm is designed to convey. The object is to induce others, from the experience of the psalmist, to trust in the Lord; to rely upon Him; to come to Him in trouble and danger; to wait for His interposition when all other resources fail. Compare Psalm 25:3.

Be of good courage - The Hebrew word here means, "be strong." That is, do not faint. Do not be dismayed. Still hope and trust in the Lord.

He shall strengthen thine heart - He will strengthen "thee." He will enable you to perform your duties, and to triumph over your enemies. See Isaiah 40:31.

Wait, I say, on the Lord - Repeating an idea with which the heart was full; a lesson resulting from his own rich experience. He dwells upon it as a lesson which he would fix deeply in the mind, that in all times of danger and difficulty, instead of despondency, instead of sinking down in despair, instead of giving up all effort, we should go forward in the discharge of duty, putting our trust solely in the Lord.

I just want to say thank you LadylovesJesus for your constant diligence and faithfulness in sharing these words of encouragement. That when we do read them, the Lord does use them to speak to our hearts. You are a joy and a delight to HIS Heart.

Blessings,
Snowrose