Job has gone through a journey we all must take to some extent-a soul searching, and he comes to the point where God is able to use Him mightily-not just for his lifetime, but for ours and beyond [Leila Rose-Gordon]
Look at what Charles Swindoll has to say on the matter...
January 3, 2012
A Profound Plan
by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Job 42:1--6
That's what makes the climax of Job's life so satisfying. This dear man, who never deserved the suffering he endured, is dealt with justly. And those who made his life so miserable weren't overlooked either. The God of justice finally steps up, bringing great rewards and restoration to the righteous, and strong discipline on the unrighteous.
Job finally realized that God's plan is profound, that His reasoning is right, and that His ways are higher than he could ever understand. With that, Job waves the white flag of surrender and says in complete sincerity, "I retract and I repent. I've said things I shouldn't have been saying, I talked about things I knew nothing about, I became self-righteous in my own defense. Lord, please know that my heart is Yours. I humble myself before You. I place myself at Your disposal. Your purpose is right; Your plan is incredible; Your reproofs are reliable; Your way is best."
That did it. When the Lord heard the deepest feelings of Job's contrite heart, when the Lord witnessed the humility of his broken spirit and the openness and teachability of Job's soul, mercy kicked in, and justice rolled down. There is even poetic justice as the Lord decides to use Job in the process of bringing the other men to justice. This is a good place to insert an insight worth remembering.
You will be amazed at how the Lord will use you in others' lives once you adjust your life to His ways. You will be many things for them: a reproof, a refuge, a point of hope, a reason to go on, a source of strength, a calming influence, and so much more. It's wonderful to realize (to your surprise) how He chooses to use you as a vehicle to help restore those who've strayed so far. This often includes those who hurt you in their straying.
I'm reminded of the distraught father in Les Misérables whose only plea comes in a powerful song about his son as he cries, "Bring him home!" Our Father, too, pleads with us to help guide His straying children back home to Him: "Bring them home!"
Excerpted from Charles R. Swindoll, Great Days with the Great Lives (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2005). Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Life can be beautiful. There is no need for shadows, or despair. Like a new born baby, you have to experience life anew. See life from a different perspective. Be invigorated, revived, renewed. Be blessed!
Showing posts with label Miracles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Miracles. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Thursday, November 10, 2011
ASK GOD FOR MIRACLES...
Recently I have been asking God for miracles. I am so intoxicated by His response that I don't think I can stop asking, now that I have started. It is so easy to ask Him for the mundane, so easy to settle for an ordinary humdrum existence, so easy to ask Him for less.
We do not challenge Him. Why? Do we fear that He cannot deliver, or do we think we are being presumptious? Well, I decided to ask for miracles after one of my pastor friends challenged us during worship to ask God for the seemingly impossible. That seemed easy enough-I had quite a few seeming impossibilities at the time. Things that I just did not think God could possibly work out in my life.
So I started with the first one. Less than four months passed before God worked out that first miracle. To this day I can hardly believe, although the facts stare me in the face. I am just astounded at the mighty God that we serve.
Well, you guessed it. I eagerly took out all my broken dreams and started to lay them before the Lord, one by one. And you know something? God has brought me sermons that have changed my perspective on life completely. My attitude has changed. I have grown in Christ in leaps and bounds. God achieved in a few weeks what I felt had not been achieved in years.
Why was that? It is as if I finally gave Him the keys to my heart. It was as if in challenging Him to do the impossible in my life I had said "Lord, I am giving you the authority to lead me." Strangely enough I really thought I had been saying that to Him all along. But it seems it was mainly lip service. In my heart of hearts there was doubt. Doubt that He would do it for ME.
Sure I had seen Him work for others, But ME? Now, that was a different story. One day the thought came to me so forcefully I jumped to my feet. The thought was so disturbing-that I had accused God of descrimination. Oh yes, I was telling God I was not good enough for some of His blessings, while others somehow had merited His favor.
Shame filled me when I realized that I had quietly harbored such thoughts about my heavenly father. God, who I knew was too big, too grand, too noble for such loathsome behavior, nonetheless had been weighed in the balance and was found wanting-by me. I was almost blown away by the nerve of the person who could think such things-and it was ME!
Luckily I did not stay there and wallow in self-pity over my arrogance. Quickly, I asked for forgiveness and assured God that I knew He was able to do more than I could ever ask or think. I hastened to tell Him that I was aware that Jesus had died for ME! That was the ultimate price and anything else He was willing to do for me was really secondary. A piece of cake, really.
Well, a lot has happened since then. I have acquired HOLY BOLDNESS. Things have CHANGED in my life. I have it going ON! Step aside world, here I come, in the name of Jesus.
And why did I write this blogpost? For you out there who might have been trapped into negative thinking for years. You too can claim God's promises. They are yours too! Why not prove Him today? THINK BIG! You have absolutely nothing to lose, and everything to gain. Enjoy the journey called LIFE. I am certainly enjoying mine.
PEACE!
Leila Rose-Gordon
11-11-11
We do not challenge Him. Why? Do we fear that He cannot deliver, or do we think we are being presumptious? Well, I decided to ask for miracles after one of my pastor friends challenged us during worship to ask God for the seemingly impossible. That seemed easy enough-I had quite a few seeming impossibilities at the time. Things that I just did not think God could possibly work out in my life.
So I started with the first one. Less than four months passed before God worked out that first miracle. To this day I can hardly believe, although the facts stare me in the face. I am just astounded at the mighty God that we serve.
Well, you guessed it. I eagerly took out all my broken dreams and started to lay them before the Lord, one by one. And you know something? God has brought me sermons that have changed my perspective on life completely. My attitude has changed. I have grown in Christ in leaps and bounds. God achieved in a few weeks what I felt had not been achieved in years.
Why was that? It is as if I finally gave Him the keys to my heart. It was as if in challenging Him to do the impossible in my life I had said "Lord, I am giving you the authority to lead me." Strangely enough I really thought I had been saying that to Him all along. But it seems it was mainly lip service. In my heart of hearts there was doubt. Doubt that He would do it for ME.
Sure I had seen Him work for others, But ME? Now, that was a different story. One day the thought came to me so forcefully I jumped to my feet. The thought was so disturbing-that I had accused God of descrimination. Oh yes, I was telling God I was not good enough for some of His blessings, while others somehow had merited His favor.
Shame filled me when I realized that I had quietly harbored such thoughts about my heavenly father. God, who I knew was too big, too grand, too noble for such loathsome behavior, nonetheless had been weighed in the balance and was found wanting-by me. I was almost blown away by the nerve of the person who could think such things-and it was ME!
Luckily I did not stay there and wallow in self-pity over my arrogance. Quickly, I asked for forgiveness and assured God that I knew He was able to do more than I could ever ask or think. I hastened to tell Him that I was aware that Jesus had died for ME! That was the ultimate price and anything else He was willing to do for me was really secondary. A piece of cake, really.
Well, a lot has happened since then. I have acquired HOLY BOLDNESS. Things have CHANGED in my life. I have it going ON! Step aside world, here I come, in the name of Jesus.
And why did I write this blogpost? For you out there who might have been trapped into negative thinking for years. You too can claim God's promises. They are yours too! Why not prove Him today? THINK BIG! You have absolutely nothing to lose, and everything to gain. Enjoy the journey called LIFE. I am certainly enjoying mine.
PEACE!
Leila Rose-Gordon
11-11-11
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