Dear brothers and sisters, we can’t help but thank God for you, because your faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing. We proudly tell God’s other churches about your endurance and faithfulness in all the persecutions and hardships you are suffering. And God will use this persecution to show his justice and to make you worthy of his Kingdom, for which you are suffering. In his justice he will pay back those who persecute you. And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power. When he comes on that day, he will receive glory from his holy people—praise from all who believe. And this includes you, for you believed what we told you about him. (2 Thessalonians 1:3-10 NLT)
This is something the Lord showed me last night and I felt like the person pastors always talk about when they say that people come up to them after the service and say "why has my wife been talking to you about everything going on in my life...Why has my sister been telling you all my problems." The response is always I haven't been talking to anyone, if the Lord is speaking to you then he is speaking to you. It's as if this passage was specifically written for THIS TIME!!
We know and we see that God is working in us and through us yet we are in the constant battle with the hardships and persecution. Growing up I always saw the Lords hand upon my family/father. People would come against my family, parents, the church and he would just continue to love on them and pray for them. They would attack him viciously, take advantage of his giving heart and even once they had 'ripped him off' he would just give it to the Lord. However each and ever time I would see how the Lord would be his defender while the other saints who came against him would go through hardship after hardship, trial after trial. Later as I served the Lord I took on the same view point, THE LORD WILL BE MY DEFENDER. If someone did me wrong, or came against me falsely the Lord would always remind me, give this to me. At times I would want to be like David and pray that the Lord would have their teeth fall out (Psalm 58:6) or that they would lose their jobs, lives and leave their children begging (Psalm 109:8-11) at least I wasn't begging the Lord to keep me from making their teeth fall out right?
I am always blown away at the crazy ways of David. If God says that David was a man 'after my own heart' even when he wanted to see his enemies DESTROYED then I know the Lord won't trip on me even when I lose my way and pray that my enemies get 'taken care of'. As Paul writes to the Thessalonians With our Flourishing Faith and Growing Love the Lord will use us, while protecting us and being our DEFENDER.
In all of this even in our trials our KING gets all the glory. Not only are we strengthened and prepared to deal with each blow our enemies throw at us but our friends, family and fellow believers see how we handle the trials we are going through when we let Jesus take control and sit back. The world can not comprehend this as we let HIS love shine through us, it encourages our loved ones as they see our trust, and we can later be used to walk with our brothers and sisters when they face the same type of battle.
I've been staring at this for an hour now and I really don't know how to end it so I will just say, continue to trust, wait and sit patiently in your ABBA FATHERS lap and let Him handle it all. In the chaos let Him speak to you and comfort you. Trusting always that during this time where you feel like its just you and Him he is accomplishing His will in your life.
Shine Brightly, jj
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