suffering

You have hope and a future

/ cnongpluh / Leave a comment

My teenage daughter has a picture on her wall about Jeremiah 29:11,which says

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord  thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope

backlit beach christian dawn

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

I read too regularly about young people who feel they have no hope in this life – so much so that they take their own life. The other day I learnt on BBC News that dark, gloomy messages glorifying self-harm and suicide are easily available on Instagram and once a person has clicked on one it creates an algorithm so the person is bombarded with more of the same messages.

How about we bombard our friends and those on our social media feeds with the powerful Word of God?

You have a hope and a future. Jesus died on the cross and took all His sin upon Himself so you could have a hope and a future – in this life and in Eternity.

You are significant. If you were the only person on the Earth God would still have sent His Son, Jesus, to die for you.

You are created in the image of God and are dearly loved.

No amount of heartache, financial difficulty, loss of friendships, abusive relationships etc. can destroy you if you listen to the One who created you, who has a purpose for you and a plan only you can fulfill.

Jesus experienced rejection – He understands. But He wants to comfort you and help you.

Please, please don’t deprive the world of your presence, your life, your contribution.

You are worth more than that.

 

Advertisement

Comfort

/ cnongpluh / Leave a comment

1524511465672290947389.jpg

In Matthew 5:4 Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

Jesus promises comfort to all who mourn.

In John 14:15-18 Jesus said  “I will pray the Father and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever-the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him;but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you”

We have a helper – the Holy Spirit is our Comforter and He helps us to pray, even when we have no words to say. The Holy Spirit will never leave us. He will not abandon us in our hour of need.

Some things may happen in life that we can never fully understand this side of eternity, but one day, we will understand. No matter what happens  God is good. He loves you and He promises to help you because He cares about you.

The Holy Spirit comes alongside us in our disappointment and grief and He shares our load. He says, “Come to me, all you who are burdened and heavy laden, and I will give you rest”

God’s yoke is easy and His burden is light.

Give your burden to God. He can handle your pain, your loss, your grief and He will help you through it.

 

Peace, be still!

/ cnongpluh / Leave a comment

FB_IMG_1479550429482

In Mark 4:39 we read how Jesus calmed the storm with the words, “Peace, be still.” The wind was so strong that it was beating into the boat and water was coming into the boat. The disciples, some of whom were experienced fishermen used to being out at sea in adverse conditions, were afraid and thought they were perishing.

Jesus arose and  calmed the sea with the words, “Peace, be still.” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.

Whatever storms you are experiencing in your life right now, Jesus wants to calm them. He is speaking these words to you today – Peace. Be still.

Let Jesus calm your storms within and without.

Our God of Justice

/ cnongpluh / Leave a comment

Isaiah 30:18 says, ” Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him. ”

The definition of justice , according to the Oxford online dictionary, is, ” to do, treat or represent  someone or something with due fairness or appreciation.”

God is a just God. He is impartial and fair.

There are many times in the world where justice does not appear to have been done in earthly courts. People may be wrongly convicted and many years later, they are set free. Sometimes a person is guilty but no charge can be brought due to a lack of evidence. This NEVER happens with God. God sees the full picture. He knows the truth about each person, and sooner or later that person will have to give account of what they have done.

2 Corinthians 5:10 says, “For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”

Sometimes on this earth someone may do us wrong, but God tells us not to take revenge.

Romans 12:19 says, ” Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” The Bible says we should not repay people evil for evil but let God avenge us. If we decide to avenge ourselves God may leave us to it. But God knows the wrongs done to us. When we leave things in His hands He will move on our behalf.

The other half of this verse says, ” Blessed are all those who wait for Him.” If we learn to trust God with our troubles we will be blessed. God knows how to look after us.

Psalm 34:8 says, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” If you trust in God, you’ll be blessed and happy. Let Him sort out your problems with injustice.

 

Persecution

/ cnongpluh / Leave a comment

Hebrews 12:3 and 4 says, “For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.”

Jesus suffered infinitely more than any of His followers are asked to suffer. This is a great encouragement when we are feeling weary.

Hebrews 4:15- Jesus does not expect us to go through anything that He hasn’t already been through.

2 Thessalonians 3:12 and 13 says, “Everyone who wants to live a godly life will be persecuted, while evil men and imposters will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” Pesecution in some form is inevitable for the believer.

Hebrews 10:33,34- Though they had suffered persecution and loss of possessions, they had not yet had to die for the faith. They’ve not yet had to resist with the pouring out of their blood. Some people WILL have to have their blood poured out for the gospel. Praise the Lord if that hasn’t happened to you,  but some of the “cloud of witnesses” were stoned, sawn in two and put to death by the sword. They are our inspiration. Consider the outcome of Jesus’ life and what He achieved in spite of the opposition. You reap what you sow. And Jesus reaped a marvellous reward . Ecclesiastes 7:8 says, “The end of a matter is better than its beginning”. Consider the end of the matter. Consider the result and reward in Heaven of a godly life. Consider the eternal destiny of your opponents if they don’t repent.