Without the Pain, There Won"t Be the Gain
Some of you who have read my recent articles know that my husband and I are losing our house due to a partition act by a woman who won everything but has passed away this summer and will never live to celebrate her selfish act.
And stranger still was the death of the magistrate who awarded it all to her.
I believe without a shadow of a doubt that God separated the chaff from the wheat as He promised He would but that doesn't leave my husband and I off the hook.
We still have to move.
On top of all this, he was recently laid off again after being told this company never lays off.
If we've ever had to trust in God it is now.
He will have to make a way where there seems to be none.
It has taken both of us some time to get over the idea that God lets the wicked prosper and those who serve Him get abandoned.
But this simply isn't the truth.
This whole ordeal has brought me to a deeper understanding of just how much my Father in heaven loves me.
This is not a punishment, but rather His choice to discipline us for our own good.
Through the pain of this, I am stronger for it because I have everything to gain in the end.
In this life, everyone has one of two choices to make.
They are either to be friend to God or to be His foe.
No one has the choice of serving themself.
We can serve God or we can serve our adversary, Satan.
To serve Satan is to live a life with no purpose, thus the "rat race" that people run.
This is a race that will only result in disaster and finally death.
But a child of God's chooses to run a different race.
It's called the "race of faith".
This race can be long, hard, difficult and instill pain, but in the end, it will be well worth it.
We are running towards a purpose and a goal.
This will be for His glory and an everlasting life with Him.
For no other reason, my race of faith will prevail.
Since I am a child of the Most High God, Satan is always nipping at my heels.
I understand his mission is to trip me up and utterly destroy me in this life by sin.
But, I refuse to allow myself the entanglement of his snares.
Naturally my race will be difficult and long.
So will yours if you have said "yes" to God and "no" to the devil.
"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
" Hebrews 12:1,2 This reminds me, who am I to expect a life free from pain and suffering? My Lord Jesus endured probably the most painful and humiliating death ever experienced in human history.
He authored my faith and chose to die in my place and yours if you have accepted this most precious gift.
I can't imagine a greater love than this.
An innocent man, the Son of God was nailed to a tree and felt every surge of pain as mockers below triumphed in His agonizing death.
He felt the humiliation of hanging there stripped of His clothes for all to see.
But as much as He despised His shame, He had the joy of knowing He was saving us from our own eternal deaths, as long as we accept Him as our Lord and Savior.
My pain is nothing compared to His.
I now see my race as one of endurance as I make my way up the mountain side.
It is a long, hard journey, but one that I am determined to complete.
This climb is bringing me closer to my destination and understanding God's great, unfailing love for me.
The other day as I prayed for the strength to keep my heels dug in so as not to slip, the Holy Spirit reminded me of something that made me shout for joy.
"At least you're not going around in circles at the bottom anymore.
" I am on my way upward! My faith is carrying me to victory in Jesus.
This knowledge is well worth the effort.
Do I blame Satan for every hard step? No, he doesn't own me, in fact he can't touch me.
As I stated earlier, I have a purpose for which I strive.
Satan can no longer deceive me, how about you? "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by Him; for those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives.
" Hebrews 12:5 This is wonderful news.
It means He loves me and has His eyes on me.
Just as any father, He wants only the best for all His children.
Disciplining our children usually hurts the parent more.
I remember a time (only once) when I disobeyed my parents and caused them to panic of my whereabouts.
I knew I was ok, but they didn't.
I gave my dad no other choice than to deal with me so that I would learn a lesson.
I'll never forget him saying, "This is going to hurt me more than it will you.
" At the time it didn't make much sense, but later as I raised my own two sons, I understood this concept.
As a result I can understand why God reproves us as well.
If parents didn't correct their children, they wouldn'tlove them very much.
Infact God's Word expains it this way; "It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
" Hebrews 12:7,8 So now as I look back on my own father's words, I realize just how blessed I was to have this kind of love and how blessed I am today to understand how much more my heavenly Father loves me! I am His.
Does this make my painful circumstances any less painful? Actually no, it still hurts, but one thing I do know for certain, I will overcome this one day.
I will get the victory because I do have peace.
God has been training me for such a time as this.
This peace is the fruit of righteousness that allows me to walk in my Father's sight.
I am determined to run with steadiness in my pace.
He has promised that my feet will not slip in the process.
"All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
" Hebrews 12:11 If your life is a rat race running in no particular direction, stop where you are and tell God you want His direction for your life.
This means you must ask His forgiveness for your sins against Him.
Tell Him you are sorry for disobeying Him and allowing Satan to separate you from His love.
If you believe in your heart that Christ died for you and now sits in heaven as your intercessor, then tell Him you want Him as your Savior and Lord over your life.
If you have said this and meant it, tell Him "thank You" for receiving you as His child.
Now, imagine the celebration in heaven over another soul set free! Welcome into the family of God.
It is a great idea to share your good news with a Christian friend who can direct you in the next steps in order to keep growing.
Without the pain in life, there won't be the gain of everlasting life in Christ.
Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible
And stranger still was the death of the magistrate who awarded it all to her.
I believe without a shadow of a doubt that God separated the chaff from the wheat as He promised He would but that doesn't leave my husband and I off the hook.
We still have to move.
On top of all this, he was recently laid off again after being told this company never lays off.
If we've ever had to trust in God it is now.
He will have to make a way where there seems to be none.
It has taken both of us some time to get over the idea that God lets the wicked prosper and those who serve Him get abandoned.
But this simply isn't the truth.
This whole ordeal has brought me to a deeper understanding of just how much my Father in heaven loves me.
This is not a punishment, but rather His choice to discipline us for our own good.
Through the pain of this, I am stronger for it because I have everything to gain in the end.
In this life, everyone has one of two choices to make.
They are either to be friend to God or to be His foe.
No one has the choice of serving themself.
We can serve God or we can serve our adversary, Satan.
To serve Satan is to live a life with no purpose, thus the "rat race" that people run.
This is a race that will only result in disaster and finally death.
But a child of God's chooses to run a different race.
It's called the "race of faith".
This race can be long, hard, difficult and instill pain, but in the end, it will be well worth it.
We are running towards a purpose and a goal.
This will be for His glory and an everlasting life with Him.
For no other reason, my race of faith will prevail.
Since I am a child of the Most High God, Satan is always nipping at my heels.
I understand his mission is to trip me up and utterly destroy me in this life by sin.
But, I refuse to allow myself the entanglement of his snares.
Naturally my race will be difficult and long.
So will yours if you have said "yes" to God and "no" to the devil.
"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
" Hebrews 12:1,2 This reminds me, who am I to expect a life free from pain and suffering? My Lord Jesus endured probably the most painful and humiliating death ever experienced in human history.
He authored my faith and chose to die in my place and yours if you have accepted this most precious gift.
I can't imagine a greater love than this.
An innocent man, the Son of God was nailed to a tree and felt every surge of pain as mockers below triumphed in His agonizing death.
He felt the humiliation of hanging there stripped of His clothes for all to see.
But as much as He despised His shame, He had the joy of knowing He was saving us from our own eternal deaths, as long as we accept Him as our Lord and Savior.
My pain is nothing compared to His.
I now see my race as one of endurance as I make my way up the mountain side.
It is a long, hard journey, but one that I am determined to complete.
This climb is bringing me closer to my destination and understanding God's great, unfailing love for me.
The other day as I prayed for the strength to keep my heels dug in so as not to slip, the Holy Spirit reminded me of something that made me shout for joy.
"At least you're not going around in circles at the bottom anymore.
" I am on my way upward! My faith is carrying me to victory in Jesus.
This knowledge is well worth the effort.
Do I blame Satan for every hard step? No, he doesn't own me, in fact he can't touch me.
As I stated earlier, I have a purpose for which I strive.
Satan can no longer deceive me, how about you? "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by Him; for those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives.
" Hebrews 12:5 This is wonderful news.
It means He loves me and has His eyes on me.
Just as any father, He wants only the best for all His children.
Disciplining our children usually hurts the parent more.
I remember a time (only once) when I disobeyed my parents and caused them to panic of my whereabouts.
I knew I was ok, but they didn't.
I gave my dad no other choice than to deal with me so that I would learn a lesson.
I'll never forget him saying, "This is going to hurt me more than it will you.
" At the time it didn't make much sense, but later as I raised my own two sons, I understood this concept.
As a result I can understand why God reproves us as well.
If parents didn't correct their children, they wouldn'tlove them very much.
Infact God's Word expains it this way; "It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
" Hebrews 12:7,8 So now as I look back on my own father's words, I realize just how blessed I was to have this kind of love and how blessed I am today to understand how much more my heavenly Father loves me! I am His.
Does this make my painful circumstances any less painful? Actually no, it still hurts, but one thing I do know for certain, I will overcome this one day.
I will get the victory because I do have peace.
God has been training me for such a time as this.
This peace is the fruit of righteousness that allows me to walk in my Father's sight.
I am determined to run with steadiness in my pace.
He has promised that my feet will not slip in the process.
"All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
" Hebrews 12:11 If your life is a rat race running in no particular direction, stop where you are and tell God you want His direction for your life.
This means you must ask His forgiveness for your sins against Him.
Tell Him you are sorry for disobeying Him and allowing Satan to separate you from His love.
If you believe in your heart that Christ died for you and now sits in heaven as your intercessor, then tell Him you want Him as your Savior and Lord over your life.
If you have said this and meant it, tell Him "thank You" for receiving you as His child.
Now, imagine the celebration in heaven over another soul set free! Welcome into the family of God.
It is a great idea to share your good news with a Christian friend who can direct you in the next steps in order to keep growing.
Without the pain in life, there won't be the gain of everlasting life in Christ.
Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible
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