You guys know I hope, that I keep you in my prayers and I have truly asked the Lord about the trials we're each going through. If nothing else, I want you to each know absolutely for sure that you are NOT cursed! The Lord our God did not sacrifice His life so He could then turn around and curse us. He LOVES us! Over and over in His Word we're assured of His love and tender care. He tells us that we should realize that if He was willing to go through that torture, death and separation from the Father because of His love for us, that He most certainly is not going to hurt us or withhold anything good from us! Instead, He says He will pour out His blessings on us abundantly so that we have ALL we need.
OK. So where are those blessings? Well my friends, I'm afraid that this is part of the price we pay for living in the last days. (notice I say, "last days" and not "end times") It's not that the Lord is withholding His blessings, in fact, He's pouring them out on us even right this moment. The difference is that He wants and needs us to focus on the eternal now instead of the physical, earthly world. Of course, He's always wanted that for all His children since the beginning, but now, time is of the essence and there is no time to waste. These are the very last days of the Age of Grace. Like any earthly Father, He wants His children to be prepared to take up their responsibilities so they can enjoy their eternal life to the fullest, when they graduate from this "school" called life, we're currently in.
See, we're not the only ones going through these trials - even the unsaved are going through them because the time of the Tribulation is getting closer. He really meant it when He tells us not to think it's strange that we're having to go through so much right now. We need to take to heart what He tells us in that passage that begins with 1 Peter 4:12, realizing that He is not punishing us, but rather, in His love, He will use all that's happening to us for our good and His glory. Not only that, He also tells us that He will stand beside us and strengthen us and help us through this time. He says He will give us wisdom to understand what's happening and how we should react to it if we will ask Him.
My friends, His Word is FULL of His promises to us for this specific time of trials. All we have to do is open it and read them to be comforted and realize again His great love for us and all the help He makes available to us. The sad thing is that too often we cry out to Him, begging Him for help, and think He hasn't answered us, but He has! The help is right there..in His Word! He's blessed us with EVERY spiritual blessing - but we have to know what they are in order to use them! That means studying His Word! He says He has given us everything we need to live this life victoriously in Him, and He doesn't lie! In fact He says He has enriched us in EVERY way! He doesn't just give us a little blessing here and there, but He literally pours His blessings out on us every single day.
Yes, we're living in the last days; which translates to mean trials for everyone right now, believer and unbeliever alike. What does the unbeliever have for help? Nothing... they have no help, no hope. After these trials they will spend eternity in Hell. Unless of course we tell them where they can get help and they accept our Lord as theirs. As for us though, we can rejoice even in the midst of these trials because we have God's help to get through them! He strengthens us to endure, He teaches and guides us so that we can understand what's happening and why, and how to react, He encourages us, comforts us, and provides all we need spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and even physically to get through these trials. He tells us that every trial we go through here, earns glory for us in Heaven. It's kind of like having a savings account in Heaven and we're putting money into it with each trial we go through. And of course, best of all, we know that we will live forever with Him in Heaven, with no more trials ever!
So take heart my friends. We have not been abandoned. Our God loves and cherishes us and would never ever do anything to hurt us. While we have to go through trials now just like the rest of the world, we have His help to get through them, and the promise of an absolutely fantastic future ahead, which should encourage us greatly. So let's open His Word together and search His Word with His help and guidance and find the exact promises and help He has for each of us for our particular needs right now. I'll post some at the end of this for us.
Part 2: Still Feeling Cursed?
I've been studying in Deuteronomy now and today the Lord showed me something that really opened my eyes yet again to how much He loves and cares for us. I thought this might also help others who feel like everything that can go wrong is... First let me post the scriptures and then what He showed me about how they pertain to us right now.
Deuteronomy 8:1–9 —Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the Lord promised on oath to your forefathers. *Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. *He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. *Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. *Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you. *Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and revering him. *For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; *a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; *a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills. *
Because I started my studies with Genesis 1 and have been reading straight through, I'm familiar with all that happened to them in the desert. In case there's some who don't remember, the Israelites continuously sinned against the Lord from the moment He got them out of Egypt. It seemed like every time He turned around they were doing something that they knew was an abomination to Him! We're not talking about what we'd think of as "little sins", though they did that too, we're talking major sin here! The kind that's like spitting in God's face! The Lord finally had His fill of it and decreed that because of their sin He wouldn't let them settle in the promised land. He used their own words against them and told them only their children would be allowed into the land and that they themselves would all have to wander in the desert for the next 40 years till they were all dead, and only then would the children be allowed to possess the land He'd promised them.
If anyone had a right to be angry or vindictive at this point, God did! But even though He disciplined them by not allowing them to enter the land, He didn't abandon them! Where I would have said, "you made your bed, now lay in it" and left, He stuck around and provided for their every need!
When we read the story about this, we often tend to focus on the part of God saying they'd all die in the desert, and think of it as a bad thing. But the fact that they would die wasn't the punishment! Everyone dies sooner or later. The punishment was not being able to settle in their own land.
What I realized was that without God's provision and help, those people would most likely all have died within the first year if not the first month! Not only that, but they'd have died horrible deaths from starvation, heat, exposure, sickness, etc. The ONLY reason they didn't die, was because the Lord stayed with them and took care of them, the way a loving father would care for his wayward child. He provided food and water for them, He made sure they had clothing that kept them covered, yet cool during the heat and warm during the cold nights. He made sure they all had shelter and that they were camped in the safest and best places in the area. He provided their shoes so their feet wouldn't get sore or hurt.
Think about it....for 40 years the Lord did this... the children grew so would have normally needed new clothes and shoes frequently. New children were born needing clothing and eventually shoes. Even the parents would have needed new clothes and shoes not just because theirs had worn out but because as we get up there in age, we often "shrink" some and then need a smaller size. And even the younger adults could easily have needed a bigger size of clothes and shoes as they built up muscle from all their walking. Where did they get the clothes for those new babies? Where did they get the blankets to wrap them in? How did they get larger sizes or smaller sizes for each other when needed? The Lord God they had insulted and sinned against over and over again, provided it for them!
Can you believe it? I mean, really, that's just incredible that He would do that for them! They'd shown Him nothing but contempt for the most part. Oh sure, they thanked Him and were glad He got them out of Egypt, but that attitude didn't even last a month before they were accusing Him of bringing them out of Egypt so He could torture them and kill them! Why in the world would the Lord go to this trouble for them then? Simply because He loved them. But God's definition of love is very different from the world's definition. When we talk about "love", we're usually talking about a feeling; but when God speaks of love, He's talking about a decision, a choice to commit Himself to care for another. Again, I don't mean that He commits to "feel" warm mushy feelings for us. I mean He commits Himself to care for our needs and do what's best for us regardless of whether or not we deserve it. He explains what love is really about in 1 Cor 13 so we can understand His love better.
The Lord had told the Israelites from the start that He hadn't chosen them because they were somehow special or bigger, or stronger or more "loveable" then anyone else, so that's also not why He didn't abandon them. The reason He didn't abandon them and that He took such tender care of them all those years was because He loved them and that's what love does.
Keep in mind too that the average life span back then wasn't what it is now. If you recall, the average person only lived to be around 40-45 years old. These adults were already all over 20 years old when God sentenced them to wander for 40 years, so the Lord actually allowed the majority of them to live out what for them was a long life. They not only lived nice long lives, but lived them without sickness or pain! You know what that reminds me of? You'll laugh, but it reminds me of the only time I was ever "grounded" by my parents. I think I was about 8 years old. I have to laugh every time I think about it because it was so very obvious at the time that my punishment literally did hurt my parents more then it hurt me. Every single day when my dad came home from work, he'd bring me a present!
It was always something that I could use to amuse myself during my punishment . (my favorite was the camera he got me) I remember too overhearing my parents talking about it one night when I was supposed to be asleep, and hearing my dad tell my mom how it just broke his heart because he loved me and hated to see me punished. Of course my mom agreed, but they also agreed that they couldn't keep buying me presents either or I'd never learn my lesson. They didn't know that I'd learned a lot more then the lesson they had intended me to learn... I'd learned about love too. They didn't know it, but they were acting an awful lot like the Lord does.
He doesn't like to discipline us. Nor is He out to get us or always looking for something to punish us for. He is the perfect loving Father. He only disciplines us when He has to, and even then He never abandons us, but instead helps, guides, comforts, and provides for us even during the discipline. You know what? He loves us so much and hates to see us in the messed up state we're in, that He even took our biggest punishment on Himself!
We may feel like we're wandering in the desert right now and that it's lasted an awfully long time, but I can guarantee you that the Lord our God who died for us, is right here with us. He's carrying us when we get tired, providing all the clothing, shoes, food, water, shelter, and all that we need, guiding us so that we miss the worst detours, and when we finally sleep at night, He gently comes in and tucks us in, kissing us good night and whispering to us: "I love you my child, hold on, it will all be over soon"...
And you know what we do each day when we wake up? (OK, what I do, as I can't speak for you guys) I throw another tantrum! I don't want the oatmeal, I want bacon and eggs! No! I don't want to wear that old dress, I want a blue one and I don't care that you made it special just for me! And I most certainly don't want to pay my bills with the money you give me because then I won't be able to waste any on that candy I want to buy; and don't give me any more of that water either, I want coffee - no, I want soda, or maybe both... yeah, both would be just right! And look what's happened now, the windshield in my car got broken -why did you let that happen if you care so much about me? Now what am I gonna do? Where will I get the money to fix it??? What? Oh, you'll take care of it? Oh, thanks! But when???? It needs to be done right NOW and I want this company to do it, not that other one.... and on and on we go till weary from all our fussing the Lord puts us to bed again, tucks us in, kisses us good night and tells us yet again "I love you my child, hold on, it will all be over soon, For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land"...
No my friends, we're not cursed. We are the most blessed, most loved, most tenderly cared for people this world has ever seen! We really truly ARE God's children and heirs to more then we can even imagine! We live in this desert, a broken world, right now, but the Lord, our Father, won't abandon us here. Instead He will take tender care of us until the day He can finally give us all that He's prepared for us. Considering that He's already given His very life to buy us out of the mess we were in, we can know that He has something really spectacular planned for us when He does finally get us Home. Knowing this, really knowing it, I can only hope that maybe with His help I can stop acting like a naughty two year old throwing a tantrum and instead act more like someone who might be at least a little worthy of His love. May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. May the Lord direct our hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance. In Jesus' Name, Amen (2 Thes 2:16–17 —2; Thes 3:5)
Deuteronomy 8:1–9 —Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the Lord promised on oath to your forefathers. *Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. *He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. *Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. *Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you. *Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and revering him. *For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; *a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; *a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills. *
Because I started my studies with Genesis 1 and have been reading straight through, I'm familiar with all that happened to them in the desert. In case there's some who don't remember, the Israelites continuously sinned against the Lord from the moment He got them out of Egypt. It seemed like every time He turned around they were doing something that they knew was an abomination to Him! We're not talking about what we'd think of as "little sins", though they did that too, we're talking major sin here! The kind that's like spitting in God's face! The Lord finally had His fill of it and decreed that because of their sin He wouldn't let them settle in the promised land. He used their own words against them and told them only their children would be allowed into the land and that they themselves would all have to wander in the desert for the next 40 years till they were all dead, and only then would the children be allowed to possess the land He'd promised them.
If anyone had a right to be angry or vindictive at this point, God did! But even though He disciplined them by not allowing them to enter the land, He didn't abandon them! Where I would have said, "you made your bed, now lay in it" and left, He stuck around and provided for their every need!
When we read the story about this, we often tend to focus on the part of God saying they'd all die in the desert, and think of it as a bad thing. But the fact that they would die wasn't the punishment! Everyone dies sooner or later. The punishment was not being able to settle in their own land.
What I realized was that without God's provision and help, those people would most likely all have died within the first year if not the first month! Not only that, but they'd have died horrible deaths from starvation, heat, exposure, sickness, etc. The ONLY reason they didn't die, was because the Lord stayed with them and took care of them, the way a loving father would care for his wayward child. He provided food and water for them, He made sure they had clothing that kept them covered, yet cool during the heat and warm during the cold nights. He made sure they all had shelter and that they were camped in the safest and best places in the area. He provided their shoes so their feet wouldn't get sore or hurt.
Think about it....for 40 years the Lord did this... the children grew so would have normally needed new clothes and shoes frequently. New children were born needing clothing and eventually shoes. Even the parents would have needed new clothes and shoes not just because theirs had worn out but because as we get up there in age, we often "shrink" some and then need a smaller size. And even the younger adults could easily have needed a bigger size of clothes and shoes as they built up muscle from all their walking. Where did they get the clothes for those new babies? Where did they get the blankets to wrap them in? How did they get larger sizes or smaller sizes for each other when needed? The Lord God they had insulted and sinned against over and over again, provided it for them!
Can you believe it? I mean, really, that's just incredible that He would do that for them! They'd shown Him nothing but contempt for the most part. Oh sure, they thanked Him and were glad He got them out of Egypt, but that attitude didn't even last a month before they were accusing Him of bringing them out of Egypt so He could torture them and kill them! Why in the world would the Lord go to this trouble for them then? Simply because He loved them. But God's definition of love is very different from the world's definition. When we talk about "love", we're usually talking about a feeling; but when God speaks of love, He's talking about a decision, a choice to commit Himself to care for another. Again, I don't mean that He commits to "feel" warm mushy feelings for us. I mean He commits Himself to care for our needs and do what's best for us regardless of whether or not we deserve it. He explains what love is really about in 1 Cor 13 so we can understand His love better.
The Lord had told the Israelites from the start that He hadn't chosen them because they were somehow special or bigger, or stronger or more "loveable" then anyone else, so that's also not why He didn't abandon them. The reason He didn't abandon them and that He took such tender care of them all those years was because He loved them and that's what love does.
Keep in mind too that the average life span back then wasn't what it is now. If you recall, the average person only lived to be around 40-45 years old. These adults were already all over 20 years old when God sentenced them to wander for 40 years, so the Lord actually allowed the majority of them to live out what for them was a long life. They not only lived nice long lives, but lived them without sickness or pain! You know what that reminds me of? You'll laugh, but it reminds me of the only time I was ever "grounded" by my parents. I think I was about 8 years old. I have to laugh every time I think about it because it was so very obvious at the time that my punishment literally did hurt my parents more then it hurt me. Every single day when my dad came home from work, he'd bring me a present!
It was always something that I could use to amuse myself during my punishment . (my favorite was the camera he got me) I remember too overhearing my parents talking about it one night when I was supposed to be asleep, and hearing my dad tell my mom how it just broke his heart because he loved me and hated to see me punished. Of course my mom agreed, but they also agreed that they couldn't keep buying me presents either or I'd never learn my lesson. They didn't know that I'd learned a lot more then the lesson they had intended me to learn... I'd learned about love too. They didn't know it, but they were acting an awful lot like the Lord does. He doesn't like to discipline us. Nor is He out to get us or always looking for something to punish us for. He is the perfect loving Father. He only disciplines us when He has to, and even then He never abandons us, but instead helps, guides, comforts, and provides for us even during the discipline. You know what? He loves us so much and hates to see us in the messed up state we're in, that He even took our biggest punishment on Himself!
We may feel like we're wandering in the desert right now and that it's lasted an awfully long time, but I can guarantee you that the Lord our God who died for us, is right here with us. He's carrying us when we get tired, providing all the clothing, shoes, food, water, shelter, and all that we need, guiding us so that we miss the worst detours, and when we finally sleep at night, He gently comes in and tucks us in, kissing us good night and whispering to us: "I love you my child, hold on, it will all be over soon"...
And you know what we do each day when we wake up? (OK, what I do, as I can't speak for you guys) I throw another tantrum! I don't want the oatmeal, I want bacon and eggs! No! I don't want to wear that old dress, I want a blue one and I don't care that you made it special just for me! And I most certainly don't want to pay my bills with the money you give me because then I won't be able to waste any on that candy I want to buy; and don't give me any more of that water either, I want coffee - no, I want soda, or maybe both... yeah, both would be just right! And look what's happened now, the windshield in my car got broken -why did you let that happen if you care so much about me? Now what am I gonna do? Where will I get the money to fix it??? What? Oh, you'll take care of it? Oh, thanks! But when???? It needs to be done right NOW and I want this company to do it, not that other one.... and on and on we go till weary from all our fussing the Lord puts us to bed again, tucks us in, kisses us good night and tells us yet again "I love you my child, hold on, it will all be over soon, For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land"...
No my friends, we're not cursed. We are the most blessed, most loved, most tenderly cared for people this world has ever seen! We really truly ARE God's children and heirs to more then we can even imagine! We live in this desert, a broken world, right now, but the Lord, our Father, won't abandon us here. Instead He will take tender care of us until the day He can finally give us all that He's prepared for us. Considering that He's already given His very life to buy us out of the mess we were in, we can know that He has something really spectacular planned for us when He does finally get us Home. Knowing this, really knowing it, I can only hope that maybe with His help I can stop acting like a naughty two year old throwing a tantrum and instead act more like someone who might be at least a little worthy of His love. May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. May the Lord direct our hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance. In Jesus' Name, Amen (2 Thes 2:16–17 —2; Thes 3:5)
1 John 3:1 —How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
Romans 8:28–39 —And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. *For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. *And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. *What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? *He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? *Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. *Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. *Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? *As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” *No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. *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. *
1 Corinthians 2:9 —However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”— *
Psalm 119:140–144 —Your promises have been thoroughly tested, and your servant loves them. *Though I am lowly and despised, I do not forget your precepts. *Your righteousness is everlasting and your law is true. *Trouble and distress have come upon me, but your commands are my delight. *Your statutes are forever right; give me understanding that I may live. *
1 Peter 4:12–19 —Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. *But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. *If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. *If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. *However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. *For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? *And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” *So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. *
2 Corinthians 4:17–18 —For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. *So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. *
1 Corinthians 1:5–9 —For in him you have been enriched in every way—in all your speaking and in all your knowledge— *because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. *Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. *He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. *God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful. *
2 Corinthians 1:20 —For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.
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