The Holy Once calls to me this morning. Yesterday was Veteran's Day and the nation took the time to honor our military veterans for the sacrifices they have made and are still making today.
The Holy Spirit brings to my mind the words of Jesus in Matt 24:6, "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it you are not alarmed such things must happen but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains."
This is just a statement of what's happening today and the conditions we face on the ground and in the environment around planet earth. The battle field is in the natural and in the Spirit realm as well. There are natural famines and Spiritual ones. There are natural earthquakes and Spiritual ones.There are natural wars and Spiritual ones.
These things are said to be like "birth pains". Having birthed 4 of my 6 children, I understand "birth pains". Having 3 adopted grandchildren, I can look upon the struggle and sacrifice in adoption to see that bringing forth new life, is laborious and hard work in the process.
The Holy One captivates my thoughts and He speaks to my meandering mind. "The sacrifice that goes with the mission is part of the mission. It cannot be avoided but will someday be understood". My wise Counselor knows my unspoken thoughts as I think about those things that I see we suffer and yet do not understand why.
We are all suffering the high price of the calling by God on our lives. In fact, it seems that, if we are not "suffering in the sacrifice", something is off in our service to our King.
There is not one mission given by our Lord that doesn't involve sacrifice. Whether it be one of inconvenience or some other more desperate form of death to comfort and ease in life, sacrifice is a reality in the Lord's commissioning of His people.
In my times of trials, I see how I have sometimes missed that memo and have not always understood the sacrifice that was required or why. Self-pity can surely breakdown an otherwise potentially outrageous testimony of God working out the impossible things in our lives. Testimonies are made in the furnace of adversity.
The Lord exhorts us to "count the cost" of following Him and being His servant and representative to a lost and dying world. We read that in His word but then leap right over it without truly understanding the days we will spend in the dungeons of persecution, the times we will slosh through the mud pit of being misunderstood, or the hours we will spend away from all the glitz and glamor of a party with our friend that is unacceptable to our calling.
In this world, many will suffer through unprovoked divorce, family divisions, church splits, physical torture or abuse in different forms. Some will feel the arrows of the evil one in their bank accounts, their health or be made to endure losses to their dignity or assassinations to their godly character.
Some of the sacrifices we can see for what they are. But what about the ones that's seem so pointless and having to be made for no discernible reason? The Holy One speaks to my heart about "those"sacrifices today.
In a perfect Christian world the good guys are supposed to win and come through every battle without a scratch. But that is not my reality and the wounds can be deep. Today I am thankful that my Counselor is ever present and a comfort as I nurse some of those wounds.
His words lift me up. Somehow, as we wait for the promised resolutions to our struggles and continue on in the mission we have been called to execute in service to our King, there is great relief in knowing that the sacrifices we are required to make are not in vain.
I can find the peace to "keep on keeping on" knowing that "the sacrifices cannot be avoided but will someday be understood".
The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
The Holy Spirit brings to my mind the words of Jesus in Matt 24:6, "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it you are not alarmed such things must happen but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains."
This is just a statement of what's happening today and the conditions we face on the ground and in the environment around planet earth. The battle field is in the natural and in the Spirit realm as well. There are natural famines and Spiritual ones. There are natural earthquakes and Spiritual ones.There are natural wars and Spiritual ones.
These things are said to be like "birth pains". Having birthed 4 of my 6 children, I understand "birth pains". Having 3 adopted grandchildren, I can look upon the struggle and sacrifice in adoption to see that bringing forth new life, is laborious and hard work in the process.
The Holy One captivates my thoughts and He speaks to my meandering mind. "The sacrifice that goes with the mission is part of the mission. It cannot be avoided but will someday be understood". My wise Counselor knows my unspoken thoughts as I think about those things that I see we suffer and yet do not understand why.
We are all suffering the high price of the calling by God on our lives. In fact, it seems that, if we are not "suffering in the sacrifice", something is off in our service to our King.
There is not one mission given by our Lord that doesn't involve sacrifice. Whether it be one of inconvenience or some other more desperate form of death to comfort and ease in life, sacrifice is a reality in the Lord's commissioning of His people.
In my times of trials, I see how I have sometimes missed that memo and have not always understood the sacrifice that was required or why. Self-pity can surely breakdown an otherwise potentially outrageous testimony of God working out the impossible things in our lives. Testimonies are made in the furnace of adversity.
The Lord exhorts us to "count the cost" of following Him and being His servant and representative to a lost and dying world. We read that in His word but then leap right over it without truly understanding the days we will spend in the dungeons of persecution, the times we will slosh through the mud pit of being misunderstood, or the hours we will spend away from all the glitz and glamor of a party with our friend that is unacceptable to our calling.
In this world, many will suffer through unprovoked divorce, family divisions, church splits, physical torture or abuse in different forms. Some will feel the arrows of the evil one in their bank accounts, their health or be made to endure losses to their dignity or assassinations to their godly character.
Some of the sacrifices we can see for what they are. But what about the ones that's seem so pointless and having to be made for no discernible reason? The Holy One speaks to my heart about "those"sacrifices today.
In a perfect Christian world the good guys are supposed to win and come through every battle without a scratch. But that is not my reality and the wounds can be deep. Today I am thankful that my Counselor is ever present and a comfort as I nurse some of those wounds.
His words lift me up. Somehow, as we wait for the promised resolutions to our struggles and continue on in the mission we have been called to execute in service to our King, there is great relief in knowing that the sacrifices we are required to make are not in vain.
I can find the peace to "keep on keeping on" knowing that "the sacrifices cannot be avoided but will someday be understood".
The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
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