Sorry I have been MIA for the last few months. I am
still here, forming blog posts in my head, and I am still reading your blog
posts as I have time, and I really appreciate when you check by to see if I've
posted anything new.
Today I have something really neat to share with you that God showed me as I read my Bible!
(If you are a Believer, I encourage you to make some quiet time to meditate (definition: think deeply or concentrate on for a period of time; ponder in silence; examine attentively; pray over; study by oneself; etc not the yoga definition of meditation, which I believe is dangerous and evil) on God's words in the Bible. "You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek Me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13 But off my rabbit trail and back onto the main path...)
Please read and examine the following portion of Scripture with me:
Acts 16:19-25 (Feel free to grab your Bibles and read
from the beginning of verse 16 for more context if you want. And also all
the way to verse 40 if you like. I assure you, it's worth it. But
for now we're going to focus on verses 19-25b.)
"But
when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and
Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. And when
they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, "These men are Jews,
and they are disturbing our city. They advocate customs that are not
lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice." The crowd joined in
attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders
to beat them with rods. And when they had inflicted many blows upon them,
they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely.
Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened
their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and
singing hymns to God."
Note these seven things that Paul and Silas
endured. They were:
1. seized
2. dragged
3. wrongfully
accused
4.
attacked
5. stripped
6. beaten
7. imprisoned
But then soak in their reaction...
They were praying
and singing hymns to God!
Wow! Dwell on that!
How do we respond when we endure trials? I have been going through
a lot of trials lately and I know a lot of you are, too. As a dear friend
pointed out on Sunday, remember that thanking God for everything, including
suffering, acknowledges His perfect will in everything. When we praise
God in every situation, we are accepting that He is in control and His ways are
best. I have found that while trusting Him doesn't make the trials go away,
it does give me a measure of peace that can only come from Him.
"Rejoice
always,
pray
without ceasing,
give
thanks in all circumstances,
for
this is the will of God in Christ Jesus
for
you."
1
Thessalonians 5:18
