Donna is a wife, mother, grandmother, writer, and Biblical counselor. She has been blogging through the Bible each year since 2012. She loves God's Word and sharing how freeing and practical it is. She is certified through the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors.
There will be times in all of our lives when life doesn’t make sense. It may be because of sickness or tragedy, the loss of a relationship, or watching a child walk away from the Lord. It may be because of someone else’s sin or just our circumstances, but there are times when life is hard. Maybe you’re going through one of those times right now.
Whatever your difficult circumstances or mine, how should we respond? And if we’re doing well right now, what can we do to be ready when challenging times come?
Not all suffering is caused by sin on the part of the sufferer. It can come from persecution or simply as the result of living in a fallen world. We can’t know someone else’s heart and shouldn’t assume their suffering is the result of sin. But sin can sometimes be the cause of our suffering or can make it worse even when the initial circumstances were not our fault. So, could sin be complicating my suffering or yours?
This is an important question because, often, our suffering can be greatly reduced or eliminated when we deal with its root. In today’s post, I’ll share 3 heart-probing questions to help you determine whether sinful responses might be worsening your suffering.
Also today:
With broken families and the pressures of living in a post-Christian world, older believers have a mission that has never been more important. If you are a senior adult, do you know what that mission is and are you being a good steward of it?
And from our New Testament reading, many people think they are children of God because they belong to a certain church, were raised in a Christian home, have “always believed in God,” have been baptized, taken communion, or are “good people.” But can any of those things save us?
Life, including pain and heartache, happens to us all, but if we don’t know the essential character of God, we will be tempted to blame Him and run away, instead of running to God when we need Him the most. See why it’s so important to run to God.
Also, read about “the rod of correction” in parenting and one of the most freeing verses in the Bible.
Spiritual battles are raging all around us. Satan wants to steal, kill and destroy all that God loves. He wants to destroy the family, destroy people’s will to work, and destroy our love for one another. He wants to divide and sow discord. And he and his evil minions seem to be ramping up their evil crusade everywhere. But many of us go into the battle ill-prepared. So, how can we strengthen and prepare ourselves for life’s battles?
And today’s readings in Proverbs and the New Testament talk about spiritual battles of another kind, the ones that go on inside of us.
First, how the “lions” of fear can keep us from moving forward and trusting God.
And in Romans, after acknowledging the war between the flesh and the spirit, the Apostle Paul tells us how we can be assured of victory. A message we all need to hear concerning our personal spiritual battles with sin, the flesh, and the devil.
Why bother living right? After all, everyone else seems to be living any way that makes them happy. Couples live together without ever marrying yet still attend church without criticism or shame. Others divorce because they are no longer happy together. And in many other ways, those who claim faith in God live lives that look more like the world rather than faithful Christians.
So why not? Are they just lifestyle choices that don’t make that much difference? Are the things in the Bible mostly suggestions for a better life? And if they really are sin, since God is willing to forgive sin, why not just live any way we want and confess them later?
Do you have any uncommon friends? You know the ones, friends who encourage you and help you grow in your walk with God? And what kind of friend are you, a common friend or an uncommon friend? While each person is precious to God, he or she may or may not be an uncommon friend. Common friends abound. They are the norm. But uncommon friends are rare blessings from God!
Also, read about how we are not only saved by grace but kept by grace and about the importance of preaching the gospel to ourselves every day.
What does it mean that God “remembers our sins no more”? Does it mean He forgets? And does He expect us to forget when others have hurt us? What can we do when those past hurts keep coming to our minds? Discover a helpful process that can truly help us walk out forgiveness.
Also, have you ever wondered “Where is God?” when you’re hurting? Why doesn’t He seem to be answering your prayers? Why does He allow hardships to continue? What might He be doing when trials drag on?
What if God gave you a dangerous assignment? What if it meant risking your reputation or your career or your financial security or some other temporal benefit?
Would you be willing to go? Would you raise your hand and say, “I will go and if I perish, I perish”?
Also, our passage in Proverbs warns us about the slavery of debt and Paul, in our New Testament reading, hits us with the issue of sin and then shows us God’s cure.
Most of us are familiar with the proverb: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” But we all know kids who were raised in church and, yet, have walked away from God. What went wrong? Did their parents miss something? Did God fail to keep His Word? Do we have a parental guarantee that our children will always walk with God?
Also in today’s post:
As we start the book of Esther, we’ll look at what God was up to, and the un-fairy-tale-like ending for the other young virgins taken as “potential queen for a night.”
And from Romans, we’ll read about God’s warning to us concerning the danger of self-righteously judging others. So, as you can see there’s a lot to talk about in these passages.
An unwillingness to accept and believe the truth about God can start an individual or a society on a dangerous downward spiral. But that rejection is not done in ignorance. Romans 1 tells us that creation alone provides each of us with enough knowledge to know there is a God. It’s not a lack of truth. Instead, men and women suppress the truth because they don’t want to hear it and they don’t want to respect God’s authority in their lives. The consequences are evident in our world today.
Many of those who reject the truth most vehemently are, also, the most educated in our society. Our schools, colleges, universities, and many professions are full of people who think they are wise with all their science, business acumen, and knowledge. But though they claim to be wise, God says they’re fools if they reject Him and His authority!
