"When you go through the deep waters, I will be with you. When you go
through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the
fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you"
Isaiah 43:2 NLT
It's been a sweltering summer with oppressive levels of heat and humidity...
through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the
fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you"
Isaiah 43:2 NLT
It's been a sweltering summer with oppressive levels of heat and humidity...
We don't have air conditioning in the cell blocks. So I've been feeling every bit of summer's wrath. And when the heat factor gets mixed in with life's trials and troubles, things can get challenging.
But that's okay. As I have said many times throughout my journal and in letters to friends, such harsh conditions and difficult circumstances are just what the followers of the Lord Jesus need to help us to grow stronger in our faith. Such hardships cause us to draw closer to Christ, and to depend upon Him all the more for the inner strength we need to cope with the ups and downs of life.
But in all frankness, it has taken me many years to learn and accept these spiritual truths. My acceptance of the periodic testings the Lord puts me through, did not come overnight. Nor did they come during the early years of my walk with God.
No, it took a while before I could say along with the apostle James, "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing" (James 1:2-4 NLT).
So, there it is. There's nothing I could say to add to this. God's word says it all. In the Old Testament, the Lord says through Isaiah the prophet, "I will be with you through every difficult situation, and I will see you through it." While in the New Testament's book of James, the apostle says, "Consider your troubles as a time to learn patience and to develop endurance and inner strength. Take everything that comes your way with joy, and not with complaining."*
Amen!
D.B.
*Note: This is my paraphrase of these biblical passages.
But that's okay. As I have said many times throughout my journal and in letters to friends, such harsh conditions and difficult circumstances are just what the followers of the Lord Jesus need to help us to grow stronger in our faith. Such hardships cause us to draw closer to Christ, and to depend upon Him all the more for the inner strength we need to cope with the ups and downs of life.
But in all frankness, it has taken me many years to learn and accept these spiritual truths. My acceptance of the periodic testings the Lord puts me through, did not come overnight. Nor did they come during the early years of my walk with God.
No, it took a while before I could say along with the apostle James, "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing" (James 1:2-4 NLT).
So, there it is. There's nothing I could say to add to this. God's word says it all. In the Old Testament, the Lord says through Isaiah the prophet, "I will be with you through every difficult situation, and I will see you through it." While in the New Testament's book of James, the apostle says, "Consider your troubles as a time to learn patience and to develop endurance and inner strength. Take everything that comes your way with joy, and not with complaining."*
Amen!
D.B.
*Note: This is my paraphrase of these biblical passages.
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