1 Thessalonians 2: 13 - "And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe."
This morning I spent most of my time singing praises. God has been testing my hope in Him so much the past few weeks. I have been doing my best to remain at His feet no matter how difficult and unpredictable my life has been. It took great effort on my part to remind myself that my life was not about me. So, I renewed my pledge to follow no matter where He leads and even when my hopes are dashed I will not change my mind about His love for me, what He has done for me and who I am in Him. As I was praying, the Holy Spirit confirmed to me what I see in my life these days are the result of one of my prayers where I asked Him to make my hope in Him so strong that no disappointment in this life would run me down. Hence, why the past few weeks it has been one disappointment after another to the point where if something goes right I am the first one to be surprised.
I was reading 1 Thessalonians 2 and I admired Paul's courage and focus. Paul was following the Holy Spirit leading that led him and Silas in Philippi. There, they were treated so badly for their faith. They were flogged, thrown in jail with their feet shackled, they took their clothes away and so on. Yet while the message in this chapter was poignant but Paul's purpose and mission were his only focus. I was amazed to see that even after this beating he received from the Romans, he still felt the trip was a success. Strangely, he was right. No details escape God. So, through the letter he wrote to the Thessalonians you could see what his priority was and the joy and hope he found in being used by God. He knew he could boast in Christ for the Thessalonians receiving the Word of God, they believed in it and they were living testimonies of God using Paul for His glory.
Sometimes even when we follow God's leading all we end up with are: closed doors, deception, mistreatment, pain and persecution, but we should not despair. If we trust Him He will use it all for His glory. The way we respond to Him when we are afflicted makes a world of a difference. We ought to learn to give it all to Him and let Him carry the burden and the pain while we find rest in Him as we continue the path. But we can only respond this way if we truly trust Him. God does not expect us to enjoy the process, but He expects us to understand if we are truly His, then nothing in our lives is left to chance. Every step we take has been ordained by Him. If we learn to comply according to His Word, His will and His life in us, by His grace, we will be transformed day by day.
In His Love & Service,
M. J. Andre
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