I Peter 5:10 "But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you."
We have this strange tendency to want everything to be easy. We start a project and the least little thing that goes wrong (and it always does) we get aggravated and can't believe how bad our life is. We just want everything to fall in place and nothing to ever be out of sorts. I pray I'm not ruining it for anyone, but NO ONE ever gets everything to go just right. There are always unexpected things that happen and there are always "testy" things that will transpire throughout the course of our daily lives.
If everything was easy then nothing would have value. It is through the testing and trials of things that you and I place a certain worth upon it. The more we've had to sacrifice and give to achieve or acquire something makes it more valuable than things that required no work, no sweat, and no stress.
Still, the wording that Peter used in my opening text may seem harsh and asking too much of you and I. He wrote "after you have suffered a while". We might be saying "this is more than I signed up for" or "this is outside the bounds of what it needs to be", but let's consider the uncomfortable word in the writing. Suffered in this text means, to experience a sensation or impression. The best way to understand this text is to see that when you and I get to the point that something changes in the way we see the kingdom of God is when the work of God begins.
We cannot see the kingdom of God as something that we are on the outside of, but we must understand that our Christian lives are part of the kingdom of God. If we succeed, the kingdom of God succeeds, but if we fail, I think we know the end of that. Granted, we do not always understand the "process" of God, but when it is allowed to play out, it always yields great dividends to us and to those we are/will influence for Christ. Don't just take the easy, unlabored for things that just come your way. Be willing to "pay" for the things that will be a manifest blessing to your life and the lives of others.
It will be worth it all!
Pastor Hoffman
We have this strange tendency to want everything to be easy. We start a project and the least little thing that goes wrong (and it always does) we get aggravated and can't believe how bad our life is. We just want everything to fall in place and nothing to ever be out of sorts. I pray I'm not ruining it for anyone, but NO ONE ever gets everything to go just right. There are always unexpected things that happen and there are always "testy" things that will transpire throughout the course of our daily lives.
If everything was easy then nothing would have value. It is through the testing and trials of things that you and I place a certain worth upon it. The more we've had to sacrifice and give to achieve or acquire something makes it more valuable than things that required no work, no sweat, and no stress.
Still, the wording that Peter used in my opening text may seem harsh and asking too much of you and I. He wrote "after you have suffered a while". We might be saying "this is more than I signed up for" or "this is outside the bounds of what it needs to be", but let's consider the uncomfortable word in the writing. Suffered in this text means, to experience a sensation or impression. The best way to understand this text is to see that when you and I get to the point that something changes in the way we see the kingdom of God is when the work of God begins.
We cannot see the kingdom of God as something that we are on the outside of, but we must understand that our Christian lives are part of the kingdom of God. If we succeed, the kingdom of God succeeds, but if we fail, I think we know the end of that. Granted, we do not always understand the "process" of God, but when it is allowed to play out, it always yields great dividends to us and to those we are/will influence for Christ. Don't just take the easy, unlabored for things that just come your way. Be willing to "pay" for the things that will be a manifest blessing to your life and the lives of others.
It will be worth it all!
Pastor Hoffman
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