After The Rain

¹⁹ Remember my affliction and roaming,
The wormwood and the gall.
²⁰ My soul still remembers
And sinks within me.
²¹ This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have hope.

²² Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
²³ They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
²⁴ “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I hope in Him!”

²⁵ The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,
To the soul who seeks Him.
²⁶ It is good that one should hope and wait quietly
For the salvation of the Lord.
²⁷ It is good for a man to bear
The yoke in his youth.

²⁸ Let him sit alone and keep silent,
Because God has laid it on him;
²⁹ Let him put his mouth in the dust—
There may yet be hope.
³⁰ Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes him,
And be full of reproach.

³¹ For the Lord will not cast off forever.
³² Though He causes grief,
Yet He will show compassion
According to the multitude of His mercies.
³³ For He does not afflict willingly,
Nor grieve the children of men.“

Lamentations 3:19-33

Which seed are you?

On the rocks

“The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.”

Matthew 13:20-21

We all have different thresholds of pain. If you find yourself questioning the goodness of God over what is happening to you, remember that even though nothing happens to us without the permission of God, ultimately, those who hurt us is not God. That person chose to act independently from God exercising his/her free will. Do you find yourself falling away from God for something so painful? While there is time, act quickly. Tomorrow may be too late. We always think we have tomorrow, but what if you never wake up?

Help me! I’m choking!

“The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.”

Matthew 13:22

Do you find yourself being totally distracted from doing God’s will? Whatever it is you are going through that keeps you from working is because the enemy knows He can’t keep you to doubt the goodness of God. However, he has zoned in on the next best thing to keep you from being productive. He wants you to abandon the great commission (Matthew 28:19). Although no one can snatch the security you have in Christ, God’s call on your life is stifled.

Tried and True

“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

Matthew 13:23

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.“

James 1:2-4

Perseverance and endurance is the endgame. We can all be wounded warriors. What matters is that we refuse to become spiritual casualties. The One who is in us is stronger (1 John 4:4) than any demonic force that oppresses, but because of our free will, we can at times linger in misery more than we have to.

You may look at a person and think they are not going through something but every single person on this planet is guaranteed to be going through something.

“But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”

Matthew 24:13

Life will always be full of tribulation, but He who promises this is faithful,

9 But as it is written:
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

1 Corinthians 2:9

Whatever happens, cling to Jesus.

The rain will stop.

Hold on just a little bit longer.