The spirit has recently led me to this realization and now i can truly sing it is well with my soul!
Many find that, even after years of following Jesus, they still struggle to do what's right. Pride, lust, fear, greed, and bitterness seem to grow stronger, not weaker, with time. Why is life so tough and is struggling really a bad thing?
Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly. Luke 22:60-62.
Peter must have wondered if there was any hope for him. But Jesus still led him to do great things. All of Peter's later success causes us to go bac and look at his weeping in a different light. His tears flowed from a heart that was wounded by his miserable failure, but the tears also indicated that there was still life left in his soul. If he had given up on Jesus, it would'nt have hurt so badly. As a matter of fact, it was his love for the lord that made the pain so great. Think about wounded men laying around on a battlefield. as a few weary stragglers walk through the feild, they hear a groan and see faint movement in one of the bodies. what is their response? Do they grimace and complain about how gross their comarade is? No! they realize that this struggling victim is a hopeful sign of life, not death! For peter and us, struggling is a sign of life!
Think of a cat and a dog..When separated they get along fine but when they are together they fight and cause cahos. They create a constant state of conflict. scripture describes the clash of opposing forces within our soul in much the same way.
For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.
galatians 5:17
these two forces (the spirit and the flesh) are even more antagonistic then the dog and cat. struggling would cease if we let the sinful desire reside in us alone. but when the spirit is within us we can be assured that till our dying day our struggles will be a sign to us that our names are written in the book of life!
God will even bless us with struggles: Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
We don't know what the thorn in the flesh was, some say poor eyesight, a speech defect, or a persistent sensual temptation. Whatever it was Peter wanted it to go away. three times he asked God to take it away. He probably thought without the thorn he would be a better christian. but God reminded him that it was only through the power of HIM that peter was who he was. "Thorns" though we hate them and want them to be taken away, often do great work in our lives and, eventually, deliver spiritual blessing.
Your struggles indicate you are still alive spiritually. They confirm that the holy spirit is doing his important work in your soul, and they may even be the means through which God's grace is most powerfully being demonstrated in your life!
I now truly belive this: "For when i am weak, then I am strong." 2 Cor. 12:10b
I finally have peace in my soul!
Many find that, even after years of following Jesus, they still struggle to do what's right. Pride, lust, fear, greed, and bitterness seem to grow stronger, not weaker, with time. Why is life so tough and is struggling really a bad thing?
Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly. Luke 22:60-62.
Peter must have wondered if there was any hope for him. But Jesus still led him to do great things. All of Peter's later success causes us to go bac and look at his weeping in a different light. His tears flowed from a heart that was wounded by his miserable failure, but the tears also indicated that there was still life left in his soul. If he had given up on Jesus, it would'nt have hurt so badly. As a matter of fact, it was his love for the lord that made the pain so great. Think about wounded men laying around on a battlefield. as a few weary stragglers walk through the feild, they hear a groan and see faint movement in one of the bodies. what is their response? Do they grimace and complain about how gross their comarade is? No! they realize that this struggling victim is a hopeful sign of life, not death! For peter and us, struggling is a sign of life!
Think of a cat and a dog..When separated they get along fine but when they are together they fight and cause cahos. They create a constant state of conflict. scripture describes the clash of opposing forces within our soul in much the same way.
For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.
galatians 5:17
these two forces (the spirit and the flesh) are even more antagonistic then the dog and cat. struggling would cease if we let the sinful desire reside in us alone. but when the spirit is within us we can be assured that till our dying day our struggles will be a sign to us that our names are written in the book of life!
God will even bless us with struggles: Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
We don't know what the thorn in the flesh was, some say poor eyesight, a speech defect, or a persistent sensual temptation. Whatever it was Peter wanted it to go away. three times he asked God to take it away. He probably thought without the thorn he would be a better christian. but God reminded him that it was only through the power of HIM that peter was who he was. "Thorns" though we hate them and want them to be taken away, often do great work in our lives and, eventually, deliver spiritual blessing.
Your struggles indicate you are still alive spiritually. They confirm that the holy spirit is doing his important work in your soul, and they may even be the means through which God's grace is most powerfully being demonstrated in your life!
I now truly belive this: "For when i am weak, then I am strong." 2 Cor. 12:10b
I finally have peace in my soul!
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