I ask God from the wealth of his glory to give you power through his Spirit to be strong in your inner selves, and I pray that Christ will make his home in your hearts through faith. I pray that you may have your roots and foundation in love......and have the power to understand how broad and long, how high and deep, is Christ's love. Yes, may you come to know his love....and be completely filled with the very nature of God. Ephesians 3:16-19 (GNB)
Endurance
by Sydney
My pearl journey began with several parasites..many I couldn't control. I used to ask God what I did to deserve my circumstances. There were times where I asked him why my daddy seemed to forget his little girl. I asked him why my mommy wouldn't give me attention I wanted. My unmet needs led me to question the one who was in control of all things. If he had so much control and he loved me, why would any of these things happen? Why wouldn't I feel loved, attended to, or cared for? Surely there must be something wrong with my God. Maybe he's forgotten about me, too. What I didn't know is that he was teaching me endurance. Endurance and discipline go hand-in-hand. If you don't have the discipline to walk things out with Jesus, endurance is impossible without him. The events that took place when I was a young girl were my training. Divorce, fighting, moving, molestation, and abandonment.. None of these things I did to myself, but I still endured. The Lord allows imperfect things to happen in my life to help sustain me, to train me. He doesn't want me to just survive my life, he wants me to thrive! I can easily count myself as a victim to these terrible things and let myself be swallowed up by self-pity, but I know that I am not a victim. The world likes to live by the phrase, "Everything happens for a reason".. Sounds catchy, sounds just deep enough to be tossed around after difficult things in life come our way. But I think as Christians we should always go back to Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (NIV) I think we mistake the first phrase with this important verse in Romans. No, he doesn't let certain events take place to necessarily punish us as his followers. Everything we endure passes his hand before it comes down to us, nothing is without his consent. And it may be hard to understand why our God would let rape, abortion, murder, and other terrible things happen in this life. But we also have a very real and active enemy that can influence our lives as well.. Perhaps he allows us to understand and experience what it's like to live in a fallen world. As fallen & finite humans, we won't ever come to the full understanding of an infinite and eternal God. But we can trust that it's for our good. Endurance happens when you step into a place that says YES to Jesus and NO to Satan; When you acknowledge yourself not as a victim, but a daughter of the Most High. His purposes will be fulfilled if we push through and "run with perseverance the race marked out for us," Hebrews 12:1
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