“If I quote you, I should take great care to not misquote
you, or only repeat the part of your statement I find palatable; for if I do, I
misrepresent you, both in who you are and what you said. Neither should we only quote that part of God’s
Word that we find palatable, for in doing so, we misrepresent the Most Holy and
awesome God, the Creator of the universe, and His great purpose.”
There are many portions of the Bible, that speak of
violence, of pain, of suffering, of poverty, of death, and if we are all
honest, there is a part of everyone of us that at sometime or another, have
done our best to avoid extensive mention of these subjects and their textual
reference Biblically speaking. It is far easier to speak of all the good things
in life, the prosperity, the health, power and influence. If we only accentuate
the positive it is void of victory for victory cannot be appreciated unless you
emerge from defeat; healing cannot be appreciated unless you emerge from
sickness; and wealth cannot be appreciated unless you immerge from poverty.
At the time of difficulty, I have despised going through the
tough lessons of life, but in retrospect, I now thank God for the difficulties I
have been through, because I realize He was with me every step of the way, and
used those tough experiences to build wisdom, character, and fortitude, that I
could have not otherwise learned.
We were never instructed to “give thanks for everything” ,
but rather “in everything give thanks”.
Big Difference!
What will you or I face in the near future that will be part
of what God uses to mold us into His image? Have a Blessed Day!
