August 3
2 Chron 33:14-34:33 | PS 26:1-12 | Prov 20:19 | Rom 16:10-27
Oswald Chambers wrote concerning John 16:33, "In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.", "God does not give us overcoming life - He gives us life as we overcome. The strain of life is what builds our strength. If there is no strain, there will be no strength. God never gives us strength for tomorrow, or for the next hour, but only for the strain of the moment. A saint can "be of good cheer" even when seemingly defeated by adversaries, because victory is absurdly impossible to everyone, except God." God gives us His Word, and He will never abandon us. He avails Himself wanting us to seek Him when tribulation happens, and it will.
We read of King Josiah in 2 Chronicles 34-35. He was an amazing king of Judah. But he became king in the aftermath of two very evil kings, King Manasseh, his grandfather, and King Amon, his father. He was placed on the throne at the age of eight at the height of Judah's pagan downfall. But it was this scenario which propelled him to become the king that he was, so that the "Book of the Law" might be found, and so that he would humble himself, along with urging the nation to humble themselves before their God. We read of the many tribulations that Paul faced which he outlines in 2 Corinthians 11:22-29. Paul, the apostle would not have become who he was, writer of so much of the New Testament, if he did not face these challenges. In Paul's lists of individuals that he mentions in Romans 16, we see listed two individuals, Tertius, who wrote the letter of Romans for Paul, and Quartus, a brother from the house of Gaius. Realize that Tertius and Quartus are Latin for "third", and "fourth". These men were slaves deemed so unworthy not to be given real names, but simply numbered. Yet, in their tribulations they came to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, and served Him honorably.
So, in the midst of your trials and tribulations, don't bemoan your situation, get angry, become embittered, and adopt the "why me" attitude. God will use those moments to refine you as the precious people that He created. But we will only recognize this if we stop asking "why me" and start asking "what now". We need to continue growing in the Lord. This growth often comes in the valleys, in the midst of our tribulations. This is when we need to look up and draw close to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: