“Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great” Matthew 5:12
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Have you ever suffered through a situation that should have been a time of rejoicing? I have. For years I complained about having to work in an environment I detested but after I left, I started worrying about finding a new job and never actually enjoyed my new found freedom. Sadly I overlooked my blessing. During times when the problems seemed so great please take a deep look. And you will see that the blessings are even greater. The devil has a way of shifting your attention toward the negative to keep you from enjoying the positive and that is why God urges us to be vigilant. You already know, based on the Word of God, that there is no lack in the Body of Christ. Everything you could ever need, every problem you could ever face has been covered by the blood of Jesus. It doesn’t matter what the doctor says. It doesn’t matter how much you are hurting right now. The situation will stop; it has to stop when you are covered by the blood of Christ. So there is no need to shed a tear and definitely no reason to spend a God given day worrying about a problem He solved 2000 years ago.
We have no patience to endure. We want victory but we don’t want to fight for it. We live in this “instant gratification” culture where everything is fast and easy and we carry that mentality in our relationship with the Lord. We measure God ability to deliver us based on how quickly we get our needs met. We refuse to invest the time necessary to develop a relationship with Him. We just want to get what we need and be on our way. God loves us too much to let us get away with it. He always comes up with ways to keep us at His feet. Children who trust their parents have no worries in their presence and “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” Psalm 46:1. So when trouble comes overlook your circumstances and focus on God’s ability and willingness to help through. Focus on the reward waiting in heaven. It will not be easy but meditate on the promises of God. Ask God to speak to you through them and ask Him to open up your eyes to recognize his truth. Do not get casual about the word. You really do need to spend time reading it. One of my favorite preachers put it like this: “the Word of God isn’t enough. You must continually feed on what it says. Get it out and read it. Feast on it Go to church and hear it preached”. You don’t nourish your body and live on the memory of yesterday’s meal do you? The same goes for the word of God. You must feed it to yourself daily. Don’t just sit around and let the devil beat you down. Christ already won the battle. It is done, finished. Praise the Lord!
So if you have been suffering through some tough times lately, I challenge you to look around and wake up to the blessings that surround you. Pure joy can only come when you focus on you blessing and overlook the circumstances. Keep your eyes on the Lord and remember earth is the journey but the destination is heaven.
Praise the Lord!
