{"id":32126,"date":"2021-05-14T03:30:33","date_gmt":"2021-05-14T10:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/?p=32126"},"modified":"2021-05-11T18:52:59","modified_gmt":"2021-05-12T01:52:59","slug":"may-14-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2021\/05\/14\/may-14-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"May 14, 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"
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“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.\u00a0 I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”<\/em>\u00a0Philippians 4:12<\/p>\n

Embrace and Accept<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I was thinking back this week to a time many years ago when we lived in Amsterdam.\u00a0I was in a lot of pain.\u00a0The doctors were struggling to find the cause.\u00a0It was so intense that it was disabling\u2014I couldn’t do much of anything.\u00a0In the midst of this as I prayed for relief\u00a0and healing, I felt the Lord said to me to “embrace” my weakness, to accept it.\u00a0That was not what I wanted to hear!\u00a0But I felt the Lord tell me that if I embraced it and worked with Him, there were valuable lessons to be learned.\u00a0And it was true.\u00a0As I changed my attitude, my perspective\u2014it became a special season of walking with the Lord.<\/p>\n

During the past few years, I’ve tried my best to apply the same principle.\u00a0Recently I was listening to some messages by Elizabeth Elliott.\u00a0She said in the trials she has gone through (including her husband being martyred by a tribe in Ecuador), she has learned that “acceptance is the key to peace in the matter of suffering.”<\/p>\n

Acceptance isn’t a fatalistic thing!\u00a0While I accept the season I’m in and work with God’s purposes in it, I still do everything I can to get better in my physical trial.\u00a0I take medicine.\u00a0I eat well. I use natural medicines that help me.\u00a0I exercise.\u00a0I try to get good sleep. I pray for healing! But underneath everything I try to keep my heart in an attitude of acceptance, embracing all that God has for me in this season.\u00a0That “attitude” helps release grace on the hard days. I’m trying my best to work with God and not “fight” the season I’m in.<\/p>\n

My heart attitude is more important than my physical situation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Acceptance involves trust. It means I shouldn’t whine or complain. It means I don’t compare my present time with past times\u2014or project into what I want for a future time.\u00a0Acceptance takes the “sting” out of a hard time.\u00a0Acceptance allows me to find God’s grace for my every need.\u00a0It even allows me to find joy in the times of suffering. Acceptance allows me to see God’s goodness when I’m having a hard day.\u00a0Acceptance allows hope to stay alive in my heart.\u00a0We live in a day and age when everyone wants a quick fix. Acceptance allows me to persevere when things don’t change quickly.\u00a0Acceptance allows me to develop godly character as I persevere with God’s help.\u00a0A heart of acceptance in what I’m going through changes everything!<\/p>\n

I still hope and pray for change, but until that happens, I choose to accept all of God’s plans and purposes.\u00a0There are lessons to be learned in weakness that I can’t learn in times of strength.<\/p>\n

Floyd said in his book, Holiness and the Spirit of the Age<\/em>:\u00a0“Humility releases us from hiding and pretending to be something we are not.\u00a0It allows us to be known for who we really are. A superficial world encourages us to cover our needs, our weaknesses.\u00a0Humility and godliness set us free from this kind of thinking.”<\/p>\n

Lord, help us to accept our needs, our weaknesses on this journey.\u00a0Help us learn every lesson You have for us.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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