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"Enduring Pain for the Present"
"For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning" (Psalm 30:5). "See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction..." (Isaiah 48:10). "...For a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith...may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed" (I Peter 6,7).
Stephen
reminded me this morning that it was five years ago today that I broke
my ankle with the help of my loyal canine companion, Roxie, as she
darted in front of me during my evening walk. Very remorseful and
concerned about me she stayed at my bedside during my entire
recuperation before and after surgery.
It was a huge learning curve for me as I had never been hindered from standing or walking over my lifespan. Driving was out as well! Some of you have been there or are presently and will identify with similar challenges.
I look back over that experience and pray that in some way I glorified God. It was a time of spiritual growth for me. I still recall very special times of worship as I lay in bed recovering, often watching "The Homecoming Friends" on DVD as they sang many Christian songs I learned as a child, others as a young believer, and still others in recent years, most of them focused on heaven. "I was caught up in the spirit" as I envisioned the beauty of heaven unmarred by sin.
The words, "I'm kind of homesick for a country to which I've never been before" from the song Sweet Beulah Land was a perfect description of what I felt. From my four month healing and recovery I learned that any pain or suffering on this side is but a blink in the time span of eternity. Or as Paul writes, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18).
I'm thoroughly enjoying the book, "If God Is Good" by Randy Alcorn and he writes: "The life to come flows out of this one; hence the believer's present sufferings comprise only a tiny part of our total life experience, which will continue forever." We can be victorious daily if we keep that perspective during times of trouble and sorrow on this side.
Otherwise we might feel cheated in this life and question God or worse yet, blame Him for our difficulties. Once again I want to quote Alcorn:
"When we feel upset with God and tempted to blame Him, we should look at the outstretched arms of Jesus and focus on His wounds, not ours. When we lock our eyes on our cancer, arthritis, fibromyalgia, diabetes, disability, [or any other life challenge] self-pity and bitterness can creep in. When we spend our days rehearsing the tragic death of a loved one, we will interpret all life through the darkness of our suffering. How much better when we focus upon Jesus!"
It's very comforting to know that if we "consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, we will not grow weary and lose heart" (Hebrews 12:2-3). Once again, in the midst of our suffering, we must focus on Jesus' life and His overcomings to enable us to experience our own overcomings.
We face opposition in one way or another everyday of our lives. Faithful readers of Daily Encouragement will quickly recognize that we often hit on the theme of suffering, pain or loss since we're exposed to this regularly through our ministry. In fact I stopped writing this message to take a phone call from a woman who let me know about her sister, an employee from one of the companies where we serve as chaplains, is in the hospital in serious condition. I will be making contact with her today.
Stay faithful. God's promises are faithful and true. Certainly you may suffer grief in all kinds of trials as others who have gone before you and done so. May you also declare with the Psalmist, that weeping may come for a season, but joy will come in the morning!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father,
just as there are seasons throughout the calendar year there are
seasons throughout our lives; many of them invigorating and
celebratory, others wearying and dreaded. Yet it is both joyous
times and dreaded occasions that shape us into Your image so that we
bear the likeness of Your Son, Jesus Christ who endured great hardship.
We are to fix our eyes on Him, who for the joy set before Him, endured
the cross despising its shame knowing that without full obedience He
could not offer full redemption for our sins. Help us not to become
weary in carrying out the tasks required of us or the physical
challenges common to these perishable bodies. May we not
interpret all of life in the "darkness of our suffering" but in the
brightness of Your resurrected Son. In the "furnace of
affliction" may we be found faithful in Your refining process. In the
name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
Further note from Brooksyne: I find the Scripture text, "Weeping may endure for a night" interesting in light of Rev. 21:25 where John, describing heaven, writes "for there will be no night there." I consider those of you who may find there are particular problems in your life where weeping has lasted far more than a single night or a temporary time period, but rather weeping seems to be lasting a lifetime. You're still waiting for the night to pass and morning to arrive when joy takes the place of weeping. Perhaps we need to put a lot more thought, prayer, and Scripture memorization into the spiritual disciplines that fix our hope on our eternal future where we are assured that "there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain" (Rev. 21:1-4). And there will be no more night because the glory of God gives it light (Rev. 21:23.) We remain steadfast in prayer for those critical issues we deal with. But our hope will never be diminished when we look with anticipation for the New Jerusalem that promises to bring the unending sunlight of God's eternal joy.
Note from Reader from Wisconsin: Doug and I were sitting out on the patio a couple of days ago in beautiful weather... and heard a bird call I didn't remember hearing before. It was SO loud, Doug said we should just look up in the woods for a bird that was 4-5 feet tall!! I finally spotted it and it was a rose-breasted grosbeak. Do you get those where you live? I love the baby bird photo in your Daily Encouragement today.
Stephen's note: Yesterday we purchased a new computer for our ministry; a Windows 8 edition so we are having some adjusting to the new system, including issues with the microphone we use for the podcast.
"Blessed Be The Name of The Lord" Video Matt Redman
"Sweet Beulah Land" Video Jason Crabb
To receive the "Daily Encouragement" each Monday-Friday through email see this page to subscribe to our email list. You can also subscribe to the Wordpress rss feed or through a Wordpress email subscription. (See the email subscription on the right side after opening this page.)
Are our daily
encouragement messages a blessing to you? We ask
you to consider making a donation to Daily
Encouragement Net so that we can continue to
prepare and provide this daily resource
which is accessed by believers and seekers all
over the world. Daily Encouragement Net relies
solely on the generosity and financial support
of its readers and podcast listeners. See here
for more information on supporting this
ministry. Gifts are tax deductible.
Permissions: Please feel free to pass on, reproduce and distribute any material on Daily Encouragement Net, in part or in whole, in any format, provided that you do not alter the wording in any way or charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. It is our desire to spread this material, not protect or restrict it. I do request that you keep the contact, copyright and subscription information intact.
Text only version for printing: To make a text only version for printing (without photos or any of the supplemental materials)
1) Open the basic text editor that comes with all computers (known as wordpad, textpad, etc.) You can also use a program like Word and select paste text only.
2) Select and copy the text from the portion of the message you want to print.
3) Paste into the text pad. (The photos won't show up but you will have a brief text description of the photo which you can delete or just ignore.)
4) Format if you desire (change font, increase or decrease size, etc.)
5) Print!
Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and I make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and to prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
© Copyright 2013 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA
<Previous Message Next Message>
Listen to this message on your
audio
player.Note: Due to a microphone problem we are unable to podcast today.
"Enduring Pain for the Present"
"For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning" (Psalm 30:5). "See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction..." (Isaiah 48:10). "...For a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith...may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed" (I Peter 6,7).
Stephen
reminded me this morning that it was five years ago today that I broke
my ankle with the help of my loyal canine companion, Roxie, as she
darted in front of me during my evening walk. Very remorseful and
concerned about me she stayed at my bedside during my entire
recuperation before and after surgery. It was a huge learning curve for me as I had never been hindered from standing or walking over my lifespan. Driving was out as well! Some of you have been there or are presently and will identify with similar challenges.
I look back over that experience and pray that in some way I glorified God. It was a time of spiritual growth for me. I still recall very special times of worship as I lay in bed recovering, often watching "The Homecoming Friends" on DVD as they sang many Christian songs I learned as a child, others as a young believer, and still others in recent years, most of them focused on heaven. "I was caught up in the spirit" as I envisioned the beauty of heaven unmarred by sin.
The words, "I'm kind of homesick for a country to which I've never been before" from the song Sweet Beulah Land was a perfect description of what I felt. From my four month healing and recovery I learned that any pain or suffering on this side is but a blink in the time span of eternity. Or as Paul writes, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18).
I'm thoroughly enjoying the book, "If God Is Good" by Randy Alcorn and he writes: "The life to come flows out of this one; hence the believer's present sufferings comprise only a tiny part of our total life experience, which will continue forever." We can be victorious daily if we keep that perspective during times of trouble and sorrow on this side.
Otherwise we might feel cheated in this life and question God or worse yet, blame Him for our difficulties. Once again I want to quote Alcorn:
"When we feel upset with God and tempted to blame Him, we should look at the outstretched arms of Jesus and focus on His wounds, not ours. When we lock our eyes on our cancer, arthritis, fibromyalgia, diabetes, disability, [or any other life challenge] self-pity and bitterness can creep in. When we spend our days rehearsing the tragic death of a loved one, we will interpret all life through the darkness of our suffering. How much better when we focus upon Jesus!"
It's very comforting to know that if we "consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, we will not grow weary and lose heart" (Hebrews 12:2-3). Once again, in the midst of our suffering, we must focus on Jesus' life and His overcomings to enable us to experience our own overcomings.
We face opposition in one way or another everyday of our lives. Faithful readers of Daily Encouragement will quickly recognize that we often hit on the theme of suffering, pain or loss since we're exposed to this regularly through our ministry. In fact I stopped writing this message to take a phone call from a woman who let me know about her sister, an employee from one of the companies where we serve as chaplains, is in the hospital in serious condition. I will be making contact with her today.
Stay faithful. God's promises are faithful and true. Certainly you may suffer grief in all kinds of trials as others who have gone before you and done so. May you also declare with the Psalmist, that weeping may come for a season, but joy will come in the morning!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father,
just as there are seasons throughout the calendar year there are
seasons throughout our lives; many of them invigorating and
celebratory, others wearying and dreaded. Yet it is both joyous
times and dreaded occasions that shape us into Your image so that we
bear the likeness of Your Son, Jesus Christ who endured great hardship.
We are to fix our eyes on Him, who for the joy set before Him, endured
the cross despising its shame knowing that without full obedience He
could not offer full redemption for our sins. Help us not to become
weary in carrying out the tasks required of us or the physical
challenges common to these perishable bodies. May we not
interpret all of life in the "darkness of our suffering" but in the
brightness of Your resurrected Son. In the "furnace of
affliction" may we be found faithful in Your refining process. In the
name of Jesus we pray. Amen.Further note from Brooksyne: I find the Scripture text, "Weeping may endure for a night" interesting in light of Rev. 21:25 where John, describing heaven, writes "for there will be no night there." I consider those of you who may find there are particular problems in your life where weeping has lasted far more than a single night or a temporary time period, but rather weeping seems to be lasting a lifetime. You're still waiting for the night to pass and morning to arrive when joy takes the place of weeping. Perhaps we need to put a lot more thought, prayer, and Scripture memorization into the spiritual disciplines that fix our hope on our eternal future where we are assured that "there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain" (Rev. 21:1-4). And there will be no more night because the glory of God gives it light (Rev. 21:23.) We remain steadfast in prayer for those critical issues we deal with. But our hope will never be diminished when we look with anticipation for the New Jerusalem that promises to bring the unending sunlight of God's eternal joy.
Note from Reader from Wisconsin: Doug and I were sitting out on the patio a couple of days ago in beautiful weather... and heard a bird call I didn't remember hearing before. It was SO loud, Doug said we should just look up in the woods for a bird that was 4-5 feet tall!! I finally spotted it and it was a rose-breasted grosbeak. Do you get those where you live? I love the baby bird photo in your Daily Encouragement today.
Stephen's note: Yesterday we purchased a new computer for our ministry; a Windows 8 edition so we are having some adjusting to the new system, including issues with the microphone we use for the podcast.
Today's Suggested
Music
and Supplemental Resources
"Blessed Be The Name of The Lord" Video Matt Redman
"Sweet Beulah Land" Video Jason Crabb
Send a message to Stephen
& Brooksyne
To receive the "Daily Encouragement" each Monday-Friday through email see this page to subscribe to our email list. You can also subscribe to the Wordpress rss feed or through a Wordpress email subscription. (See the email subscription on the right side after opening this page.)
Are our daily
encouragement messages a blessing to you? We ask
you to consider making a donation to Daily
Encouragement Net so that we can continue to
prepare and provide this daily resource
which is accessed by believers and seekers all
over the world. Daily Encouragement Net relies
solely on the generosity and financial support
of its readers and podcast listeners. See here
for more information on supporting this
ministry. Gifts are tax deductible.Permissions: Please feel free to pass on, reproduce and distribute any material on Daily Encouragement Net, in part or in whole, in any format, provided that you do not alter the wording in any way or charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. It is our desire to spread this material, not protect or restrict it. I do request that you keep the contact, copyright and subscription information intact.
Text only version for printing: To make a text only version for printing (without photos or any of the supplemental materials)
1) Open the basic text editor that comes with all computers (known as wordpad, textpad, etc.) You can also use a program like Word and select paste text only.
2) Select and copy the text from the portion of the message you want to print.
3) Paste into the text pad. (The photos won't show up but you will have a brief text description of the photo which you can delete or just ignore.)
4) Format if you desire (change font, increase or decrease size, etc.)
5) Print!
Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and I make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and to prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
© Copyright 2013 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA