FRUITFULNESS IN THE LAND OF AFFLICTION!

This is my Father's glory that you bear much fruit..
(John 15:8)

Sitting in Sunday service yesterday, the Spirit of the Lord moved  powerfully on my heart!  I heard my pastor wax eloquently on the virtues of Joseph from the book of Genesis who was able to achieve such greatness, in spite of the horrible situation he was in! (Genesis 39-.50)!

I knew immediately that I had to share some thoughts to encourage women everywhere who find themselves in their own personal land of affliction!  I don't know what your Egypt is!  Maybe it's sickness, wayward children, a loveless marriage, or worse.  I just know that God is still with you! (Ps. 139:7-10) He has a purpose and plan for your pain and He will see you through it all.  Yet as Christians there are important lessons to learn and mind-blowing truths we need to get settled in our heart first!

1.  We Lve in a Fallen World!  Are you still reeling from the shock of the four teens who mercilessly beat a special needs man this past week? Or the man who went mental and killed and wounded so many in Ft. Lauderdale?  It's not a comfortable thought but more of this is to come!(2 Tim. 3:2; Rom. 6:10-13)

2.  This World is Not our Home but a Place of Service! ( Phil. 3:20) You and I won't be here forever!  The place of pain that you are in won't last forever!  (Ps. 30:5)  Like Joseph in Genesis with a humble heart and an obedient spirit, God can do miraculously things even where you are right now! Look for ways to be fruitful and bloom where you are planted!

--Don't have the money/time to visit foreign lands and see God's glory?  Support a missionary who has sacrificed much to bring others to Christ!

--Chronic health and fatigue prevent you from church ministry? As your energy permits, send cards, make telephone calls, give bedside testimonies of God's faithfulness right where you are! (I can't tell you how many times I've visited the sick and shut in and left more focused and determined to live godly than ever!  I've also left ailing whiners and self-pitiers thinking, what a way to waste such precious time!)

3.  We're Never more like Christ than when We Suffer for His Cause! (2 Tim 2:12). Let's get real with ourselves this year! Sometimes our affliction has nothing to do with God's will or another's malice!  We bring it upon ourselves!  But thank God for His grace and His forgiveness! Even if by our own hands we suffer we can still glorify God by learning from it and sharing the wisdom lesson with others! Pain is a powerful teacher but one that must be shared sometimes to destroy its devastating legacy for others! (Ps. 119:71)   

This Year Even If You have to Suffer - Choose to Be Fruitful!  For It is the Only Way to Make our Pain Count!

UNTIL NEXT TIME....

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