{"id":23203,"date":"2018-05-27T03:30:38","date_gmt":"2018-05-27T10:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/?p=23203"},"modified":"2018-05-23T16:18:26","modified_gmt":"2018-05-23T23:18:26","slug":"may-27-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2018\/05\/27\/may-27-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"May 27, 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"
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“And since we are His children, we are His heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share in His glory, we must also share in His sufferings.”\u00a0<\/em>Romans 8:17<\/p>\n

Why Must We Suffer?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A friend recently sent me the above Scripture. The commentary my friend read said that our inheritance in Christ includes both His glory and His suffering. Our suffering now is\u00a0proof<\/u>\u00a0that we will also share in Christ’s glory.\u00a0That gives us strength to endure.<\/p>\n

I’m not a fan of the suffering part!\u00a0But this gave me fresh hope, encouragement, and perspective.\u00a0I’m so grateful we don’t have to go through the hard times, the trials, and the suffering alone.\u00a0 Jesus is right by our side helping us to make it through them!<\/p>\n

“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison”\u00a0<\/em>(2 Corinthians\u00a04:17).<\/p>\n

Our time on this earth is just a “blip” in comparison to the eternity we will have with Him. The things He is working in our lives now are preparing us for that eternity with Him.\u00a0I’m grateful for His help during this preparation time!<\/p>\n

I’ve had a couple situations recently that have been very draining.\u00a0I was explaining this to the Lord in my quiet time.\u00a0I had a picture in my mind of a jug that was dry\u2014bone dry.\u00a0There was nothing left in the jug to pour out.<\/p>\n

As I waited in His presence in worship, I felt the Lord saying that He was refilling the jug.\u00a0I saw Him pouring clean, cool, refreshing water into the jug\u2014filling it up to the brim.\u00a0I’m so grateful that I can come to Him in my emptiness.\u00a0He doesn’t turn me away.\u00a0He doesn’t rebuke me for being empty. He just gently says, “I’ll refill you.”\u00a0What a good God He is.\u00a0He “restores my soul.”<\/p>\n

And He faithfully helps me get through each trial. I could have never survived all these months without His help, His grace, His strength.\u00a0How awesome He is!<\/p>\n

Again and again I’m reminded that the best response to trials, to losses, to suffering, and to thwarted hopes is to worship and praise Him.\u00a0It gets my focus turned in the right direction. I need to let go of things and look to Him\u2014but never let go of His hand!\u00a0As I worship Him, things get back into balance.<\/p>\n

Yesterday on Mother’s Day I had a few sad moments.\u00a0I was missing Floyd.\u00a0He always made the day so special for me.\u00a0As I lifted my sadness to the Lord in worship, the weight lifted and refreshing joy flooded my soul.\u00a0Worship is so very powerful!\u00a0I know it’s a “tool” God has given us.\u00a0We lift up His name in worship\u2014and He, in turn, ministers so deeply to our hearts.\u00a0Only God could do that!<\/p>\n

\u201cFather, we know Your tool of suffering is doing a good work in us, so we thank You. Amen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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