Hope Discovery of the Week:
The character forged in the battles of life is greater than the battle itself.
Scripture of the Week:
Deuteronomy 20:4
“For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.”
John 16:33
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
So this week we have been discovering that we are in a fight whether we know it or not and looking at how to fight. For those of you who have not been with us this week, you might think this is an odd topic. But we are not picking a fight, really. We are exploring how the fights we encounter in this life can steal our hope and what to do about it. Today, I want to look at how we find hope in tumultuous times.
The overarching hope we have already discovered ~ our God is fighting for us! But there is hope in every conflict we face. Here are some of the benefits of struggling in the LORD and battling like a daughter of the King:
[Tweet “There is hope in every conflict we face. Our God has overcome!”]
Humility.
The fights of this life bring us to our knees. Our flesh does not like this posture, but it is so very good for the soul. Humbling has a way of cleansing our souls and reminding us that we are nothing apart from God.
[Tweet “The fights of this life bring us to our knees.”]
Need.
The struggles of this life reveal our need of God. Self-sufficiency is kicked to the curb. Instead of looking for counterfeit Saviors, life’s fights can bring us to our Savior. We need Him!
[Tweet “The struggles of this life reveal our need of God.”]
Strength.
Going through challenging times will tear us down for the moment, but make us stronger in the end. It is all in how we process the battles we face. When we yield to God and don’t allow bitterness or hatred in, we get stronger, not weaker. Our spirit is strengthened with each battle we face to be able to handle what this life dishes up next.
[Tweet “Going through challenging times will tear us down for the moment, but make us stronger in the end.”]
Deep.
When things go easily for us, we live in the comfort zone. We never like being yanked out of that mode, but we would also not walk more deeply with God had we just coasted through life.
[Tweet “Our spirit is strengthened with each battle we face to be able to handle what this life dishes up next. “]
The character forged in the battles of life is greater than the battle itself. All that we go through down here will be worth it and God will use it for our good and His glory when we are His. This is such a huge blessing! Not only is the character earned through our trials a blessing to us now, changing our perspective and helping us to live productive lives, but God promises to bless us for every trouble we have been through. That certainly makes our burdens light, in light of eternity. Amen?
Our God promised us troubles in this world and He also promised that we would be overcomers. Don’t shy back from the battle. Face it with God’s word and His armor. He is for you and has hope for you even in the thick of the battle.
[Tweet “Don’t shy back from the battle. Face it with God’s word and His armor.”]
Lord, thank You for using even the painful places of our lives of our lives to bless us. You are good, LORD, and we praise Your Name at all times.