When Afflictions are Just What We Need
“. . . No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly” Psalm 84: 11b. Psalm 84 is a joyful song of longing for God’s presence and celebrating the blessings of dwelling in His...
Tagged: all things work for good
Your Enemies: How God Uses Them to Bless You
“They will seize the spoil of those who despoiled them, and plunder those who plundered them, declares the Lord God” Ezekiel39:10b. This chapter is about God’s judgment of Israel’s enemies. Among other things, God will bury them...
Endure Through the Pain to Become Strong
“For when I am weak, then I am strong” 2 Corinthians 12: 10b. In this passage, Paul focuses on a “thorn in the flesh” given to keep him humble, declaring that God’s grace is sufficient and...
A Fool and His Beatings
“When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the Lord” Proverbs 19: 3. “Condemnation is ready for scoffers and beating for the backs of fools” Proverbs 19: 29. According to verse 29, our foolishness...
Resist Temptation and Turn a Snare into Freedom
“They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the...
Temptation to Sin: Friend or Foe?
“For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” 2 Corinthians 12: 10. I’m Only Tempted to Sin Where I’m...
Wilderness Experience or Pit: Choose Your Path to Freedom
“So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. And there was no water in the cistern, but only...
Barrenness and Fruitfulness: The Link
“‘Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of...
To Trust and Obey Feels Like a Threat to Your Well-being
“And Elijah said to her, ‘Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for...
Afflictions and Usefulness: The Link
“. . . but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused” Exodus 23: 11. This passage of scripture is talking about the sabbath laws of ancient Israel. But I want...