Skip to main content

Suffering and Restoration

1 Peter 5:10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

Oh, I love being given this verse!  What an uplifting word of hope!  Peter says, "after you have suffered".  There is so much power in suffering.  I am not sure why, but there is.  I was just thinking this week that I can feel myself being restored since Mom's passing and it feels as though I am stronger, firmer, and more steadfast as this journey continues.  I am empowered by the grace of God that has sustained me throughout this trial, and now I am feeling the restoration to a higher place beginning to take shape.  It seems as though when God decides to restore something or someone, He always does it to the next level.  For instance, Job's restoration, Israel's restoration to the promised land, Peter's restoration after his denial of Jesus, they all experienced so much more with God than they had ever experienced prior to their sufferings.  Some of the restoration was material, but more so it was restoration within because of their transformed relationship with God/Jesus (I'm thinking of Paul especially.).  That is what I am just beginning to understand.  I am being transformed, but so is my relationship with Jesus.  Oh, the depth of love!  God is in the business of restoration and His restoration is about overflowing my cup.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Blessed Assurance

Romans 8:38-39 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth , nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. This verse just makes me want to shout, "AMEN!"  But isn't it frustrating how Satan knows exactly where to hit us to make us doubt?  And then he is so good at kicking us while we are down.  I, unfortunately, had this experience very recently.  I was feeling a little worried about a particular situation and then Satan pounced and made me feel like an enormous loser.  He was feeding me lies that he knew I would believe, because they are the same lies I always fall for.  Thankfully, I was able to spend some time with God in quiet solitude.  I was reminded that no matter what Satan throws at me, I will never be separated from the love of God because I have Christ Jesus...

Mercy and Compassion

Jude 22-23 Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear--hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. This is something I have struggles with, loving those who frustrate me.  How can we be merciful to those who are "corrupt" without being judgmental?  It is definitely not our place to judge one another, it is our place to love one another.  Sometimes loving the people who are rude or cruel is the hardest part of being a Christian.  My humanity would like to judge people for their behaviors and choices and lash out at them.  I believe we are only able to show true mercy and compassion for others when we accept these for ourselves from Jesus and then He lives them through us.  Allowing God to change our hearts in order that Jesus' mercy and compassion shine through is a journey.  It's not always easy.  On those difficult days, I remain quiet and ask God to love on me, so I...

His Strength

Psalm 100:5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. I was prompted to read this verse and it was perfect for today, of course.  All of Psalm 100 is praise to God.  For me today, I am praising God because He was faithful in something He had revealed to me a while ago.  Let me explain.  Have you ever asked God for His strength?  Not just strength, but His strength.  This is something that I was prompted to do about a year ago, not to just ask for strength in general, but to specifically request His strength to be given to me.  I know it sounds a little like a bit of rhetoric, but keep reading. In requesting God's own strength, I have noticed something tremendous has happened each time.  When God bestows His strength within me, it is so much more than just endurance.  His strength comes with clarity of mind, lightening of the spirit, and a depth of inner joy that cannot help ...