Psalms Chapter 44. I Love Testimonies!
Don't forget how Awesome God made you!
In this chapter we hear testimonies of God's great power and deliverance and then we hear testimonies of feeling God is far away.
If we sat in a group I feel we could all share these two same things:
1. Testimonies of God's greatness and how he has answered prayers and opened doors for great ministry opportunities. We could share testimonies of overcoming obstacles. Testimonies of sharing Christ with others. Such testimonies would result in great praise to our God!
2. Then we would also hear testimonies of brokenness and going through the fire of pain and suffering. It would be testimonies of feeling abandoned by God. Testimonies of being humbled. Testimonies of frustration and disappointment.
This is our life: days of great victories and days of feeling defeated. We have to expect this. To think God is only interested in the first is to set ourselves up for disappointment. God's interest is not our happiness but our obedience and being conformed more and more into the image of Christ.
The greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart soul mind and strength. John 14: 21-24 says that if we love God we will obey him.
The Israelites often walked away from God but still went through all the religious duties. They still went to the temple, Church. they still did their sacrifices of animals. They still prayed. But their hearts were far from God. The Lord said to them, “To obey Me is better than making sacrifices.”
Obedience is better than just going through the motions of religion.
Being conformed to the image of Christ is what it's all about. This occurs through our trials and tribulations so we are to consider it all joy! God's going to conform us into the image of his Son!!! How much greater can that be? That should make us be filled with JOY! It's no fun! It's painful! It hurts but we get to look more and more like Jesus!
James 1:2-4 says to consider it all joy when we encounter various trials and tribulations. Because it helps us learn to persevere through tough times and to make us mature, more like Jesus. Romans 8:29 says that it's God's plans for us to be conformed to the image of Jesus. Hebrews 12:1-11 is all about the Father chastening or disciplining his children, why? God does so for our good so that we share in his Holiness, become more and more like Jesus. It produces from our lives righteousness and peace. The good news through all this is God promises to be with us always! So persevere through the tough times.
John 16:33
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
Hebrews 13:5-6
I will never leave you nor forsake you!
I was reminded today of how nothing can separate us from God’s love as we see in Romans 8:35-39 where verse 22 from this chapter is quoted.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For Your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.