Short & Sweet: 2 Things To Do When Suffering

“Therefore let those who are suffering according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.” 1 Peter 4:19

I have done a lot of things while suffering. I’ve whined, complained and cried; the perfect recipe for a pity party with one attendee—me. I have learned these reactions do not alleviate suffering or improve circumstances. In some instances they indicate a very shallow faith in God and His plans life. And, for some reason, these fruitless activities do not make God’s top-ten list of “what to do when you are suffering.” Whining and complaining get you stuck. Just ask the Israelites—they were stuck for 40 years.

While whining and complaining may be our natural inclination they are not God’s best practice when it comes to suffering. He has other ideas. He wants to give us a new normal.

Idea #1: Entrust your soul to God.

The Greek word for entrust used in the verse above is paratithmi. I love the meaning of this word. Paratithmi means to place down to another, to commit to one’s charge, to deposit, to place beside or near another. Imagine taking your soul in your hands and placing it beside God, knowing that He is better able to tend its keeping than you are. Why? Because we would safe ourselves or comfort ourselves right out of many valuable lessons God is trying to teach us. Let’s face it, some lessons are only learned through suffering.

Idea #2: Keep doing good.

What good do we need to keep doing while suffering? Keep the faith. Speak the gospel. Help others. Walk. Confront. Pray. Forgive. Give. Love. Serve. Share. Hope. Dream. Act. Work. Teach. Laugh. Share. Rest. Live.

Life does not stop because of suffering, and life does not have to be perfect to be abundant. God has a beautiful way of hiding blessings amid the pain. You’ll find treasures you’d never acquire apart from the suffering.

Two more considerations:

First, did you notice sometimes God allows us to suffer? This one is a little hard to swallow. It’s not that God wants us to suffer or is pleased when we suffer, but because of our nature some things will only be accomplished when we suffer.
Suffering is not about our pain, it’s about our progress
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. What is God teaching you or showing your through suffering? If you are struggling, a great work is at stake.
Second, did you notice the name for God used in verse 19? Why Creator? Why not Healer or Avenger? Because amid our suffering, God is busy creating something new, something good, something beautiful. Can we entrust our souls to our Creator not only to bless us with good things but to bless us with good things that have been created by suffering?

Action Points When Suffering:

Do something you enjoy. I remember a painful season in my life of many years ago. I put off doing my favorite hobby because I wanted to wait until the situation was resolved. I wasn’t going to have any fun until things were better. Great idea, right? Do something you enjoy. Have fun by faith!
Do something for another. No act of kindness is too small to be significant. Send the card. Make the call. Say the prayer. Bake the cookies. No matter how you are suffering, someone needs to hear from you.
Do something with Jesus. Add an extra Quiet Time to your day. Ask Him to encourage you very specifically through His word, a song, a radio broadcast.

Remember, when you are suffering, entrust your soul to Him and do good to others.

Life is sweet.

i hear: feeling cross

As hard as we may try to control them, emotions can get the better of us sometimes. This was a roller coaster week for me—more down than up! At times I’d have to say I was feeling downright cross.

Easter week is a great time to be feeling cross. In Hebrews 12:2, we read how Jesus redefines feeling cross. Because of Jesus, feeling cross can be can be a great thing.

Please click on the play button below to listen to a short podcast on Feeling Cross.

For other Easter week resources, please click on the links below.

Day One: Twelve Days of Easter

Day Eight: Twelve Days of Easter

Have a blessed Easter!

Short & Sweet: What Do You Live For?

17 “Deal bountifully with Your servant, that I may live and keep Your word.

18 Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law.”

Psalm 119:17-18

I can’t live without my coffee, I heard someone say as she came in the door to Bible study one evening with a fragrant steaming cup in hand. I have often heard people make similar statements … I can’t do anything before my coffee … I am nothing without my coffee … I can’t deal with life unless I have my coffee.

Coffee must be some powerful stuff.

While I realize most of these comments are made in jest, something about them gives me pause to stop and ponder. Some people, who would never think of starting their day without their cup of Joe, walk right past their Bible on the way to their favorite coffee house. Coffee is non-negotiable, and the lack there-of is a deal breaker. It’s a coffee-house world view.

Whether it’s coffee, an afternoon nap, or a morning run, everyone builds their life around something. What drives my life? What would cause me to say,

“I can’t live without _________ .”

I am nothing without _____________.

I can’t deal with life unless I have ______________. “

I know what I want it to be — God, the Bible and all things Jesus. I lived enough of my life without Jesus to know life without Jesus is not worth living. It’s empty and fruitless. Yet, do I always choose Him first? Is He my priority, my everything, my non-negotiable? Do I live and keep His Word?

Let’s take a close look at two important words in the verse, live and keep.

In the original language, live transliterates as chayah, which means among many things, to live, to prosper, to revive, to restore, to heal, to live prosperously. Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. God’s word is literally dripping with life — physical and spiritual. He resurrects dead things (relationships, dreams, and marriages) and restores broken things (hearts, souls and spirits).

To keep transliterates as shamar.

.Shamar means to guard, to protect, to watch for, to wait for, to treasure, to celebrate. Do you protect God’s word in your heart by refusing to watch, read or listen to media that contradict the truth of His word? Do you wait for and watch for His word as you go through your day? Do you long for your Quiet Time or just endure it? Do you treasure His word by collecting it in your heart, displaying it on your walls or speaking it in your conversations and prayers? Live 2

If you are like me, there have been seasons when you could have answered no to some or all of these questions. If you are in one of those seasons now, there is hope! Verse 18 gives us the answer.

Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law.

4 Ways to Live for Jesus and Keep His Word:

Tell Jesus about the dryness of your heart.
Ask Him to help you long for His word and a deep relationship with Him.
Pray to Jesus to open the eyes of your heart to the truth of His word.
Carve the time out of your busy schedule and spend consistent time with Him everyday.

Life is sweet. Live for Him and keep His word.

Study, Lent: empty to full

16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” Colossians 3:16-17

I love studying and learning.

I could be a professional student. My heart beats a little faster when I hear terms such as Rhodes Scholar, Oxford, Cambridge, Colson Fellows Program … the stuff dreams are made of. God is all about studying and learning. He required the Kings of Israel to write a copy of His word and keep it with them and study it every day of their life. What’s good for the Kings of Israel is good for us.

Studying is a discipline and requires determination and perseverance, but the pay-outs are huge. Wisdom, knowledge, blessings, being smarter than our enemies are just a few of the benefits of studying God’s holy word. In this digital age we have instant access to the word of God — it’s only a click away.

Make some extra time this week and get your study on, you will be blessed! To get you started, please dig in to the Sway below.

Don’t forget to leave a comment in the Comment Section about what you have learned!

Take 5!: How to Know God

” as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.”

2 Peter 1:3-7

Please take a moment to empty your heart of sin and self and ask God to fill you with His Holy Spirit. If you haven’t already, please read 2 Peter 1:3-7.

According to verse 3, what has God given us?

Did you notice that God has given us everything we need to live a highly effective successful Christian life? Have you ever thought you were unable to bring a certain area of your life under the control of the Holy Spirit? I know I have. But, God has given us divine power to overcome our flesh and live by the Spirit. An untamed area of sin is no match for the power of God.

How can we begin to unleash the divine power God made available to us (verse 3)?

By knowing God. The original Greek word for knowing used in this verse is epignosis which means precise and correct knowledge, to become thoroughly acquainted with, to know accurately, to know thoroughly, to perceive, ascertain, to understand (BLB). How do we acquire this kind of knowledge of God? By studying His holy word; a cursory glance at a few verses each day won’t cut it. We need to dig in deep, investing our time and ourselves in order to know God.

What else has been given to us (verse 4)?

“Exceedingly great and precious promises” have been given to us, which are recorded in the Bible, enable us to partake of the divine nature of God.

Please list everything we are to add to our faith mentioned in verses 5-7.

Now let’s take a quick at what each of these concepts mean in the original language.

Virtue: a course of thought, feeling and actions concerning modesty, purity and moral excellence.

Knowledge: knowledge of lawful and unlawful things for Christians, right living.

Self-control: “the virtue of one who masters his desires and passions, esp. his sensual appetites” (BLB).

Perseverance: the characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings.

Godliness: reverence, respect, to be well off, to prosper, acting well, to revere, to worship.

Brotherly kindness: love or affection between friends

Love: the love of God, love that always acts for the best interest of the recipient.

Which of the above virtues do you need God to develop in your life?

If you feel discouraged by lack of progress in one of the above areas, remember you have access to His divine power. And He is greater than your sin. Power up and press on!

i hear: forged by fire

29 “Is not My word like a fire?” says the LORD

“And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?

Jeremiah 23:29

Quick! What do you think of when you hear the words fire and hammer?

Did the Bible come to mind?

God uses both of these words to describe His word. How is the Bible like a hammer? How is it like fire? Better yet, how does God use both of these tools to shape our lives? Sounds like it might be painful.

Ouch!

If you’ve been a Christ follower for more than a few days, you know the refining process can be painful, but there is purpose in the pain!

To listen to today’s i hear, please push the play button below.

Have a blessed day!

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