Monday April 13, 2009 HAVE YOU BEEN DISTRESSED - ENOUGH?
In fact, to be distressed in a godly way causes people to change the way they think and act and leads them to be saved. No one can regret that. But the distress that the world causes brings only death. 2 Corinthians 7:10 I remember well the second morning of being a Christian. When I awoke that morning, I just knew in my heart that everything in my life would be different; even my looks. Arriving at the mirror I faced disappointment; I still looked like myself. Funny, how much I thought the Christian life would be a bed of roses, and in a sense it is; there are always thorns with the beauty. When we take the time to reflect on Easter one thing always stands out - Christ suffered. If then we are to be genuine Christ followers we will not escape suffering. When Jesus appeared to His followers after the resurrection there was joy in His countenance - the enemy was defeated, and he always will be if we too are resurrected through our suffering; repenting of our wrong thoughts or attitudes. On a regular basis I deal with people who are trying to avoid life's pain by turning to alcohol, drugs, and other forms of escape. Satan, the deceiver, will go to any extreme to get our minds off of growing in Christ. Paul was trying to teach the concept of turning woes to wows to the Corinthian believers, who had become lax in their stand for righteousness in their community of faith. In his first letter to these believers he admonished them to put a man and woman out of their fellowship because of the sexual immorality in their lives. He taught that it was one thing to tolerate such sin in the life of an unbeliever, but totally unacceptable to tolerate this sin in the life of a believer. His stand placed a separation in their relationship with Paul, thus, causing sorrow. Paul wanted them to learn from their sorrow, to deal with their pain, and repent of their tolerance of the world's ways. In 2 Corinthians 6:10, he said, "People think we are sad although we're always glad, that we're beggars although we make many people spiritually rich, that we have nothing although we possess everything." When we serve God by serving others, we will often find ourselves at the bottom of a financial pot. Yet, God will always meet our basic needs. God knows that the greatest need we have is for spiritual riches, and that we can always have enough to share. Maybe you are going through a difficult time. Maybe you have recently had to take a stand for Christ that left you less than popular. Rejoice! God will be glorified in the situation. You may have to endure being misunderstood for a season, but God will use the time to restore your strength and faith in Him! As the second verse of Amazing Grace proclaims, "Thro' many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come; 'Tis grace hath bro't me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home." Grace is the answer for all of it, and His grace is truly sufficient. For as Paul implied in another writing, for when I am weak - HE is strong! ******************************************* O. Addison Gethers e-mail address : [email protected] or [email protected] window live messenger: [email protected] aim: durangoadd64 skype: cowboys62 yahoo messenger: OADDISONGETHERS --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Deaf-Blind Inspirational Life Group" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/DBILG?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
