“In our trouble God has comforted us—and this, too, to help you: to show you from our personal experience how God will tenderly comfort you when you undergo these same sufferings. He will give you the strength to endure.”
2 Corinthians 1:6 -7 (TLB) God expects you to use your pain to help others. Whatever mistake, failure, trouble, trial, or bad decision you’ve experienced, God says, “I’ll still use it for good in your life. And I expect you to use it to help others.” This is called redemptive suffering. “In our trouble God has comforted us—and this, too, to help you: to show you from our personal experience how God will tenderly comfort you when you undergo these same sufferings. He will give you the strength to endure” (2 Corinthians 1:6-7 TLB). Think of the biggest troubles you’ve had in your life and the worst pain you’ve had to endure physically or emotionally. God doesn’t want you to waste that hurt; he wants to redeem your suffering. You can always help people more through your weaknesses than through your strengths. Telling someone all the things you’re good at won’t help someone in pain. But sharing with them how God has walked with you through your pain could change their life. What pain in your life are you not talking about because you think it’s a burden you have to carry alone? God wants to use you right now—not when you’ve fully recovered or moved past your pain. He wants to use you even in the areas that you have been embarrassed about and that still hurt. Part of God’s dream for your life is that you help people, not just through your gifts and strengths but also through your pain. This is what Jesus has done for you. This is the power of the Gospel.
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“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness.”
Matthew 6:22-23 (NIV) You shape your dreams, and then your dreams shape you. If you don’t have a dream for your life, then you don’t have any definition for your life. So many people today are confused about their identity. In fact, our society is having a collective identity crisis. People are asking: “Who am I?” “Where did I come from?” “Where am I going?” “What am I supposed to be doing?” “Does my life matter?” “What gives my life significance?” “Is there any reason for it all?” Those questions shape their dreams, and those dreams just feed into the identity confusion. The only way to have clear definition for your life is to have God’s dream for your life. If you don’t, you won’t know who you are or who God wants you to be. You’ll always be asking yourself these questions. You’ll doubt what you’re doing and why you’re doing it; you’ll wonder if what you do has any meaning. Your dreams define you—so you’ve got to make sure you’ve got the right dream! And the only way to know you have the right dream is to find out what God’s dream is for your life. Jesus said, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness” (Matthew 6:22-23 NIV). When you have great vision, you see past what is in front of you to the long-term—even to eternity. A great dream is born of an eternal perspective and faith in God’s good plan for your life. A short vision will define a small dream. But a long vision will define an impactful, meaningful dream. Choose your dream wisely. A dream based on God’s vision for your life will make a difference in how well you live out your purpose. And it will also point others to God and his plan, the only way to find fullness of life. “We have known and believed that God loves us. God is love. Those who live in God’s love live in God, and God lives in them . . . No fear exists where his love is. Rather, perfect love gets rid of fear, because fear involves punishment. The person who lives in fear doesn’t have perfect love.”
1 John 4:16, 18 (GW) Fear never gives you a life of freedom. It always limits you! You may call it worry or anxiety, but the results are the same. It’s a prison of fear. Even when Jesus rose from the dead on the very first day, fear locked the disciples away from how God wanted to use them. John 20:19 says, “That Sunday evening, the disciples were together behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jews” (GW). After Jesus died, the disciples locked themselves in a house because they believed the religious leaders might come after them next. But those doors didn’t just keep the Jewish authorities out of their lives. It kept everyone else out, too. Fear always locks people out of your life. You fear getting hurt again, so you don’t let anyone close to you. But you can’t have love without risking hurt. So how do you escape your prison of fear so you can get close to people again? You don’t do it through a self-help book. Only God can break you out. God does this when you: 1. Remember how much God loves you. You need to do this every time you start to panic and get afraid. Remember that “God is love. Those who live in God’s love live in God, and God lives in them . . . No fear exists where his love is. Rather, perfect love gets rid of fear, because fear involves punishment. The person who lives in fear doesn’t have perfect love” (1 John 4:16, 18 GW). When you invite God’s love into your life, fear cannot take up residence anymore. Love and fear can’t stay together! The more you accept God’s love the less afraid— and the more confident and courageous and stronger—you’ll be. 2. Remember God has a plan for you. God’s plan is always good. Bad things might happen in your life, but that’s not God’s plan. The Bible tells us, “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God—those whom he has called according to his plan” (Romans 8:28 GW). God specializes in bringing good out of bad. He turns crucifixions into resurrections! The disciples responded in fear and despair to Jesus’ death on the cross, but God brought good—the salvation of humanity—out of it. God’s plan for you is good. No matter what happens, he will turn it into something good. Seeing Jesus and understanding his love for them brought the disciples out from behind locked doors. Whenever you start to feel afraid, remember God’s promises to you. Then, you’ll be free to rest in his love and open your life to loving others. “I will live in perfect freedom, because I try to obey your teachings.”
Psalm 119:45 (GNT) Pretending to be someone you’re not is exhausting, isn’t it? Too many people have spent so much of their lives pretending that they don’t remember who they really are anymore. They’ve spent all their energy and effort trying to fake their way through life, thinking it will give them the life they want. If that’s you, then you’re in a prison of pretending. And you’ve locked yourself in this prison for two main reasons. First, you’re trying to please people. The Bible tells you how foolish this is: “It is dangerous to be concerned with what others think of you, but if you trust the LORD, you are safe” (Proverbs 29:25 GNT). Second, you feel like you need to be perfect to be loved. Since no one is perfect, you’ll never feel truly loved if perfectionism is snaring you. You make up for this by living in a pretend world, where you never make mistakes. Even worse, as you’re hard on yourself, you’re also harsh on others. Everyone ends up in your prison. Jesus once said of people who pretend to be something they’re not, “You are the ones who make yourselves look right in other people’s sight, but God knows your hearts. For the things that are considered of great value by people are worth nothing in God’s sight” (Luke 16:15 GNT). What’s the cure for a life of pretending to be something you’re not? Switch your focus to what God thinks. God is the only one who knows you completely and loves you unconditionally. If you’re doing what God wants, then you’re doing what’s right. The psalmist says of this kind of focus, “I will live in perfect freedom, because I try to obey your teachings” (Psalm 119:45 GNT). You don’t need to scroll on your phone to find out who you really are. Social media can’t tell you how much you’re really loved. Only God can tell you the truth about who you are—and that will set you free. “Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now!”
1 Peter 1:3-4 (The Message) Fear is nothing new. It’s been with us from the very beginning! In the Garden of Eden, Adam hid from God and said, “I was afraid.” Humans have been living in fear of God and each other ever since. Fear is based on ignorance. That means truth is the only cure—and truth can only be found in God’s Word. The Bible is full of commands. But do you know which one is the most common? Don’t be afraid. You’ll find it 365 times in Scripture—including several times at the time of Jesus' resurrection. “Don’t be afraid” were the first words the angel told those who showed up at the tomb on Easter morning. They were also the first words Jesus spoke after the resurrection. It’s no wonder why it’s a common theme in the Bible: Fear is humanity’s most common problem. You might not think you’re a fearful person. But you rarely realize how many of your decisions are based on fear, such as the fear of what people think of you and the fear of failure. Because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, you can now live without fear. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, “[Jesus] included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own” (The Message). When you live according to the resurrection of Christ, the Bible says you’re living a better life, a life free from fear. In fact, there are five truths about the resurrection that will set you free from fear if you understand them. First, you know Jesus tells you the truth. Throughout history many people have claimed to be God or the Messiah—but only one proved it. The Bible says, “[Jesus] was declared to be God’s Son with great power by rising from the dead” (Romans 1:4 NCV). Without the resurrection, you couldn’t trust anything Jesus said. But you can trust what Jesus says about God, heaven, and everything else he taught because he rose from the dead like he said he would. When you understand Jesus tells the truth and that you can trust what he says, it becomes easier to let go of your fears. Second, you know death isn’t the end. Until Jesus rose from the dead, you didn’t know if there was life after death, because there was no proof. Jesus changed that. The Bible tells us, “God raised the Lord Jesus from the dead, and we know that God will also raise us with Jesus” (2 Corinthians 4:14 NCV). You don’t need to fear death, because Jesus’ resurrection shows us that death isn’t the end of the story. It’s really the beginning of your eternal life in God’s presence. Third, you know God loves you extravagantly. God didn’t just send you a postcard with a note saying how much he loves you. He cared enough to send the very best—himself! When Jesus was dying on the cross with his arms outstretched, he was saying: “I love you this much.” Fear and love cannot exist in the same place. The Bible tells us, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear” (1 John 4:18 NIV). When you invite Christ into the front door of your heart, fear goes out the back door. Fourth, you know God has a good plan for your life. When you open yourself up to God’s love, he takes care of your past, present, and future. Because of the resurrection, your sins are forgiven, you get a purpose for living, and you get a home in heaven. The Bible describes it like this: “Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now!” (1 Peter 1:3-4 The Message) You won’t get that kind of life anywhere else. You only get it through the power of Jesus’ resurrection. Finally, you know God will take care of your needs. One of the reasons you struggle with fear is that you worry about tomorrow—and worry can’t change anything! It won’t add a single moment to your life, and it won’t solve a single problem. But the resurrection guarantees that God will meet all of your needs—starting with your salvation—by providing you with the power of his resurrection. Paul writes, “I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 1:19-20 NLT). You might remind yourself that because Jesus was raised from the dead, you are no longer a prisoner to fear. That’s news so good that you will want to share it! “There is a right time and a right way to do everything, but we know so little! None of us knows what is going to happen, and there is no one to tell us.”
Ecclesiastes 8:6-7 (GNT) For the rest of your life, you’ll try to determine the right timing for many decisions you have to make. It may be deciding about an educational change, a career change, or a change in a relationship. The Bible tells us, “There is a right time and a right way to do everything, but we know so little! None of us knows what is going to happen, and there is no one to tell us” (Ecclesiastes 8:6-7 GNT). Because timing is an important part of any decision, keep these five steps in mind as you decide: Take time to make the right decision. “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25 NIV). Hurry is the enemy of good decisions! Let God set the timing for your decisions. His timing will always be best, so you can surrender yours to him. Be quiet and listen to God’s Word. “I pondered the direction of my life, and I turned to follow your laws” (Psalm 119:59 NLT). You can’t hear the whisper of God’s voice if your life is filled with other noise. That’s why it’s so critical you spend time alone with God. God’s will is found in God’s Word. Enlist the prayers of others. “Brothers and sisters, I beg you to help me in my work by praying to God for me. Do this because of our Lord Jesus and the love that the Holy Spirit gives us” (Romans 15:30 NCV). When you ask other people to pray with you about a decision, they can offer encouragement and support. They can ask God to give you focus and clarity. Consider what you do best. “Each one, as a good manager of God’s different gifts, must use for the good of others the special gift he has received from God” (1 Peter 4:10 GNT). God gave you gifts so you could use them to help others. Make sure your decision helps you spend more time sharing your gifts and talents with others. Seek the counsel of wise friends. “Where there is no counsel, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety” (Proverbs 11:14 KJV). You want more than your own perspective when you’re trying to determine the right time for a decision. Get the help of godly friends, or a mentor or pastor. Find the wisest people you know, and listen to their advice. As you consider your decision, remember: God is the creator of time, and he controls all of it. That means his timing is never too late and never too early. You can trust him to be right on time—in his time! “Love is . . . never haughty or selfish or rude. Love does not demand its own way. It is not irritable or touchy. It does not hold grudges.”
1 Corinthians 13:4-5 (TLB) One of the best things you can do for your family is to show them mercy. Mercy is love in action. So when you overlook irritations and choose to be kind to your family—even when they don’t deserve it—you’re being merciful. Another important way you can show mercy in your home is to let go of past hurts. Do you keep a mental record every time someone in your family does something wrong? Are you quick to remind someone of how they have hurt you? The Bible says that real love doesn’t store up hurts and offenses to be used later for revenge. When you hold on to a hurt like that, you are not being loving. The Bible says, “Love is . . . never haughty or selfish or rude. Love does not demand its own way. It is not irritable or touchy. It does not hold grudges” (1 Corinthians 13:4-5 TLB). Notice how “rude” and “does not hold grudges” are in the same verse. That’s the reason people are rude: They’re reacting to a past hurt they’ve been holding on to and then taking it out on others. And when they react to a past hurt, they can’t relate to the present. Leviticus 19:18 says, “Do not take revenge on others or continue to hate them, but love your neighbors as you love yourself” (GNT). Are past grudges holding you hostage today? Don’t hold grudges over your spouse’s or children’s heads. And don’t tell other people about your grudges, either. That’s gossip! Instead, just let it go. Sometimes it’s hardest to show mercy to the people who are closest to you. But when you can let it go and be merciful, you are learning to be more like Jesus. “When you talk, you should always be kind and pleasant so you will be able to answer everyone in the way you should.”
Colossians 4:6 (NCV) One of the best ways to be a witness for Jesus in a world that’s becoming more judgmental, selfish, and unforgiving is to show mercy to others. Have you noticed how unmerciful and unforgiving our world is? It seems the highest form of humor is the put-down. Even comedians get paid for their sarcastic and cynical jabs at others. But when people see you showing mercy, especially considering how rude and mean society has become, they’ll say, “That’s what I expect a Christian to be like—like Jesus.” Jesus says in Luke 6:36, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (NIV). There are four things you can do to build a lifestyle of mercy. Start looking and listening for people’s needs. Whose needs? The needs of people in your neighborhood, at your work, and in your family. Mercy always begins with awareness. If you’re not aware, then you don’t care. The Bible says, “Look out for one another’s interests, not just for your own” (Philippians 2:4 GNT). You don’t struggle to be merciful because you’re a bad person. It’s because you’re too busy. Busyness is the number one destroyer of mercy in your life. When you’re moving from event to event and task to task, it’s hard to pay attention to the people around you. And when you’re not looking and listening for people’s needs, it’s nearly impossible to be merciful. Don’t be offended by the sins of others. You can’t say, “Go clean up your life, and then I will accept you.” No—mercy is unconditional! If you’re going to show mercy to people, you can’t be offended by them. You can’t minister to people if you’re looking down on them. Jesus wasn’t offended by people’s sins. In fact, he hung out with the worst kinds of sinners. He was even accused of “guilt by association” because he spent time with people who were corrupt, unloving, and manipulative. This doesn’t mean Jesus approved of everything they did. God doesn’t approve of everything you do, but he accepts you completely. Showing mercy doesn’t mean you say everything someone does is okay. Drug addiction and adultery, for example, are not okay. But you can still show mercy. You can do for others what Christ has done for you. “Most importantly, love each other deeply. Love has a way of not looking at others’ sins” (1 Peter 4:8 ICB). Choose your words carefully. If you’re going to show mercy, there are some things you just can’t say. You can’t be rude or sarcastic. Mercy puts a monitor on your mouth and helps you choose words that build people up instead of tearing them down. Colossians 4:6 says, “When you talk, you should always be kind and pleasant so you will be able to answer everyone in the way you should” (NCV). Maybe you grew up in a family where it was common to put each other down, and now you’ve developed the same pattern in your own life. How do you break that habit? Ask God for wisdom because “the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy” (James 3:17 ESV). The wiser you become, the more merciful you’ll be to the people around you—no matter how much they disagree with you or dislike you. That’s because the more you understand the hurts of other people, the more likely you are to cut them slack and show them mercy. Value saving people over keeping rules. Jesus modeled this over and over. A good example is found in the book of Matthew. Jesus says this to the legalistic Pharisees: “You are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things” (Matthew 23:23 NLT). Jesus didn’t like how the Pharisees prioritized tithing over more important things, such as treating people fairly, showing mercy, and having faith. He wants us to “not neglect the more important things” too. He would rather see our kindness break through to others so that, one day, they will give their lives to him. Jesus is more interested in kingdom building than in rule following. Every time you show mercy, that’s your greatest Christian witness to the world. “Happy are the people whose God is the LORD.”
Psalm 144:15 (CSB) God sees everyone as valuable and worth seeking, finding, and saving. The Bible says, “[God] desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4 ESV). But many people are spiritually lost. This means they’re following their own plan for their lives rather than God’s plan. Like sheep, people who are spiritually lost lose their direction. In fact, all humans are this way. You don’t intend to get lost. You just think, “That grass looks greener over there.” And soon you follow your own way and lose your direction. Another thing spiritually lost people lose is God’s protection. Like sheep who wander away from their shepherd, you too are vulnerable when you don’t have a shepherd to protect you from the wolves of life. That’s why you need to follow Jesus, the Good Shepherd. Otherwise, you are alone and defenseless—and you lose God’s protection. The Bible also says, “My people are wandering like lost sheep; they are attacked because they have no shepherd” (Zechariah 10:2 NLT). But when you place yourself under the Good Shepherd’s care, you get direction and protection. This doesn’t mean you will be free from trouble. But it does mean that God will work “all things together for the good of those who love Him” (Romans 8:28 BSB) Your potential to do good things in the world is dramatically limited when you’re disconnected from God. God made you to do great things, far greater than you could possibly imagine. In fact, if God showed you what he wants to do with your life when you completely place it in his hands, it would astound you! The Bible says, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9 NLT). The spiritually lost not only lose their direction, protection, and potential, but they also lose their happiness. When you’re in harmony with God, it gives you the peace you need to be in harmony with others, making you a happier person. But when you’re disconnected from God, you’re often disconnected from others—and unhappy. We see this happen in the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15. It’s about a young man who left his father, taking his inheritance with him and wasting it on careless living. Luke 15:14 says, “He spent everything he had . . . and he was left without a thing” (GNT). His recklessness had left him lonely and miserable. The truth is, nothing destroys happiness faster than conflict in a relationship. So, when the young man had a conflict with his dad, it created a strained relationship. This led to resentment, guilt, and regret. This story reminds us of how unhappy we are when we’re in conflict with our heavenly Father. We weren’t designed to live disconnected from God. That’s why thumbing our nose at him and going our own way never works. But the moment we say, “God, I’m tired of living the way I’ve been living,” he runs out to meet us. He takes the initiative. He even celebrates, like the father did with his prodigal son: “Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him . . . We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life” (Luke 15:22-24 NLT). Maybe you’re saying, “I used to feel close to God, but I don’t feel close to him anymore, and I’ve lost my happiness.” Remember: God didn’t move; you moved. He’s the unmovable. Know that God sees you as extremely valuable and wants you to return to him. And when you do, he will be “filled with love and compassion” (Luke 15:20 NLT), like the father with his prodigal child. Returning to your heavenly Father and being in right relationship with him is the only way to true joy and happiness! |
AuthorTaken from Daily Hope by Rick Warren. Categories
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