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God's Words For US
by Cecelia Lester
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12 KJV
During a recent season of prayer, God spoke to me. He told me I had a burden for the struggling. As I reflect on my Christian walk, I see this word from Him as a confirmation.
On a recent Saturday we had a lady who attended our church go to be with our Lord. I have known three of her nieces since the late 1970’s. The youngest one attended school with our son. The girls’ dad worked at the factory with my husband. I became acquainted with their mother at her place of employment in our neighborhood. These girls lost their mother over 20 years ago. Their dad passed on a few years ago.
When I went into the sanctuary the next morning, I spent some time with them. I told them I was sorry for their loss. I shared a book title with them and told how I had used it in another church giving it to people who had experienced loss. One of the nieces remembered I gave her one for her dad when their mother had died. I was touched by that-a re-confirmation.
Later that day, as I read a writing craft book, Spiritual Writing by Deborah Levine Herman, I ran across this thought: “We learn by experience and we grow through struggle, but even knowing this we may not always be ready for the challenges as they come to us.” I liked the first part of this quote so much, I shared it with friends.
Yes, we have times in our lives that cause us to question who we are, what we do, and where we are headed. A family member develops an illness; we display symptoms of possible disorder or disease. A family member causes problems between ourselves and others; we experience stress from difficult daily ordeals.
I remember reading about the butterfly when it comes out of the cocoon. It has to struggle to shed itself of its shell. If a well-meaning human aids in the process, the butterfly can’t use its wings as God intended.
We serve a God who is able to take us through all these instances of struggle. The important thing is that we rely on Him as we go through these issues.
Reflecting on how God has brought me through some difficult times has made me thankful that He saw something in me He thought worthwhile.
As parents or friends, we often hear of a hardship or a difficult issue in other people’s lives. Our first inclination is to pray for God to take the problematic situation away from them. We may be wrong in praying this way. What if God allowed the trial to enter that person’s life in order for him or her to grow closer to Him?
God sent Jonah to Nineveh with the message that the people there should repent or else the town would be destroyed. The people took God’s message to heart and repented.
Jeremiah spoke for the Lord when he told those in exile in Babylon to settle in and conduct business and raise families there. God was with them for the length of the exile- seventy years.
In our lives, we seem to go through times of intense struggles- someone close to us goes through a catastrophic illness, we wait for an outcome of a friend or relative’s serious injury.
The outcome of a tribulation depends on several factors:
1) How we react to the problem. Do we grumble about having to deal with the issue? Do we try to do the best we can by focusing on the positive rather than the negative?
2) Our willingness to share with others in similar circumstances. In the future, God will allow you to share your experience with those in like situations. Are we willing to do this? (2Cor.1:4)
When we hear of a friend who has a trial we have at least two options; we can choose to come alongside of that person, pray and encourage him or her as they go through it, or we can do nothing practical to help them and even add to the stress of the situation. The first option is from God; the second, from the world. The decision is ours.
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Cecelia Lester has been serious about her writing for over two decades..
She composes Christian essays and posts them to her blog quietspirit-followingmyking.blogspot.com/
She has served in a faith-based organization, Grace In Action by writing two newsletters and searching for possible grants.
In July 2017, she published her first book, 'Times of Trouble Bring Rays of Joy.'
She and her husband of 54 years live in central Indiana. They have one grown son.
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