Jesus will never send you somewhere He hasn't gone already or isn't willing to endure Himself. He gently leads us from the front as the good Shepherd. This is something I say to you all often, not because you need to know but because we all need to be reminded of this awesome truth so our difficulties are put into perspective. Let's read what Paul said about difficulties... 2Corinthians 6: 4b-5 New Living Translation We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. 5 We have been beaten, been put in prison, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food. Headstrong and stubborn is an appropriate description of Paul before he met Jesus and after. He did everything with great zeal and relentless pursuit, but what changed after he met Jesus was his motive. He was a persecutor of the church and did what he thought was best. He thought he was doing the things he did for God's honor and Name. But after receiving God's salvation by grace, his motives changed. He then wanted to do what God sent him to do- to know, live, and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He would not do this alone. In our passage today Paul refers to we not I.
That Christians are to make it their goal to please Christ and serve him as ambassadors with integrity was always on Paul's mind. He lived this way as an example to the church. For this reason, Paul writes today that they patiently endured. To patiently endure is more than putting up with a situation or person. Other translations say they commended themselves. The word commend comes from two Greek words, which means to stand together with. It means facts line up to support something. The Moody Bible Commentary says, "As a servant of God, Paul probed his integrity by endurance during suffering. It goes on to say that Paul lists suffering in three groups of three- the general, forced on him, then what he chose. General: troubles, hardships, calamities Forced on him: beaten, put in prison, faced angry mobs Chose: worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, gone without food. Ask Yourself:
We will all suffer to a certain degree. Some of the sufferings will come at the hands of others, and others will happen because of our choices. In the end, do our reactions and what we choose to do line up to support what we believe. Let's choose to live life with purpose and on purpose. Have a great day Loved Ones, and God bless you real good!
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