Heavy Trials Led to Heavy Trust
How should we then live in this evil world?
What can we DO when heavy trials hit us and all around us?
Here are 3 words of encouragement:
1. Trust God by Guarding Your Attitude When You Go Through Trials
If you find yourself doubting whether God loves you or whether He really will punish the wicked, get alone in His presence.
Read Psalm 73, where the author was struggling with the same issue, until he went into the presence of God.
There he realized,
“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever,” Psalm 73:26.
Read Hebrews 12, which tells us that God’s discipline comes from His love for us as His children. His aim is that we might share His holiness and enjoy the peaceful fruit of righteousness, (Hebrews 12:10-11). Trust Him!
2. Obey God by Holding to His Absolute Moral Standards
The people in Malachi’s day were saying, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He delights in them,” (2:17).
In other words, morals do not matter, because God doesn’t immediately “zap” the wicked; in fact, they seem to prosper. and get away with everything!
We live in a day when even the Church is joining the culture in abandoning God’s moral standards. But our holy God does not change, (3:6)!
His moral standards do not shift with the winds of the times. If His Word calls something sin, then it still is sin!
When someone breaks God’s moral standards and seems to be doing just fine, don’t be deceived. God is not mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap (Galatians 6:7-8).
3. Obey God by Developing Compassion for Evil People Who Need His Grace
In Malachi’s day the people wanted God to zap the prosperous and the wicked pagans, but Malachi wisely showed them that by pointing their finger at others, they had three fingers pointing back at themselves!
The fact is, we all deserve God’s judgment. If He has shown us mercy, it is the amplification of self-centeredness to say, “Now that I’m saved, God, You can judge all the pagans out there!”
It’s as if I had been in a shipwreck and was drowning with many others. God came along and pulled me into the lifeboat.
I no sooner get in than I say, “Let’s head for shore. Why are we sitting out here in these waves? I’m cold and want to get dried off. Let’s go!”
Heavy trust comes from getting quiet and away from the NOISE, pouring your heart and all of it’s contents out before God and then waiting in His Presence until His peace surrounds you.
Waiting ……. not demanding, not timing how long it will take. Unhook from the feed of the noise of the world and find that place of Rest in His Presence, then He can speak to you clearly and restore a balance in the battles that rage against your mind.
God told Elijah to go out and stand at the entrance of the cave while He would pass by. A huge wind arose, so strong that it caused rocks from the mountain to fall and shatter.
However, God was not in the wind. After the wind, an earthquake occurred, but God was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, there was a fire, but God was not in the fire, either. Finally, there came a still, small voice, which marked God’s presence.
The wind, earthquake, and fire might have been expected to be an indicator of God’s presence because of their powerful nature, and yet they were not.
In my opinion, God was showing Elijah that the spectacular deeds that Elijah had performed were ultimately not going to turn Israel back to the worship of God.
Instead, God would work through the “still, small voice” of His word that God had called Elijah to speak to Israel in order to accomplish all that God intended to do (as shown in Isaiah 55:10-11).
(In this example God also revealed to Elijah that, despite the rampant idolatry of Israel at that time, God had preserved a remnant of 7,000 in Israel who still worshiped Him and who had not bowed down to idols, even though Elijah perceived himself as the only one in Israel who had remained faithful.)
In His Shadow,
~ Mary Lindow ©
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” THE MESSENGER ” ~ Mary Lindow
www.marylindow.com
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Mary Lindow has a passion for encouraging others – all generations, careers or vocations to live expressing excellence through personal integrity, healthy accountability, and wise management of talents and skills. She’s a sought after keynote, inspirational, humorous speaker and teacher across the USA and internationally in Ministers & Spiritual leaders Conferences, and training seminars for various organizations.
Which scripture is it of Malachi speaking
About finger pointing and three are back toward self? I am teachable to receive more wisdom!