A New Connection with the Lord

I CAME ACROSS THIS AND THOUGHT I'D SHARE IT WITH YOU........


"Yesterday in my office, I was reading through a stack of my old journals. In these notebooks I've kept a chronicle of my own relationship with God and all the things that He's been teaching me over the years. When you go back and look at these records, you'd think that the sweetest times with the Lord would be the times of greatest victory. But that's not the case. The frequency of entries and the intimacy of fellowship are so much more apparent during times of hardship."


Why is that? Why is it that Christ seems so near during times of hardship? It's "the fellowship of His sufferings" that Philippians 3:10 talks about. Does Jesus know about suffering? Yes, He does. So when we suffer, we feel an affinity with Him. There's a way that He draws near to us like in no other way; as Hebrews 4 says, "He's touched with the feelings of our infirmities." First Peter 4:13 says, "But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed." Rejoice . . . rejoice. Twice in one verse, in the middle of a discussion on suffering, we're told to rejoice.

Why would I rejoice in my suffering?

Here's why: You share in Christ's suffering. You have a new understanding and new connection with Jesus. Some people say this verse is talking about a future time when we'll be glad when His glory is revealed to the world. It could also mean that we'll be glad when His glory is revealed in us - that we'll rejoice when we look in the mirror and see a different person, because the glory of Christ will be more revealed through our lives. Both options are pretty cool, and we can hold out this truth either way: there's a closeness with the Lord that comes through trials that doesn't come any other way. Rejoice in this opportunity.
 
 
 
BE BLESSED & BE A BLESSING TO ONE ANOTHER!
 
DAWN