HOW TO GRADUATE WITH HIGHEST HONOURS (2) ‘That … day … God will reveal who His children really are’ Romans 8:19 NLT At the gates of heaven, once God has smiled His grace on all of His children, some will hear an extra ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’ Others will look on, wondering what they could have become if only they’d listened to that still small voice, that one day... Getting your eyes fixed on Jesus is all well and good in theory, but actually doing it is costly. Paul (you know, legend of the New Testament) got a fair bruising for his faithfulness to God’s call. Paul was beaten almost to death eight times. He faced danger from both foe and friend. He lived through nakedness, sleeplessness, starvation and thirst (2 Corinthians 11:23-29). Did he get fed up? Yes. Did he then give up? No. ‘I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. ’ (2 Corinthians 12:10 NAS). Did he pray for a break? Of course. Three times he asked the Lord to take away his suffering. When God replied, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness’ (v. 9 NLT), Paul learned to ‘take pleasure in…insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles’ (v. 10 NLT), leaning on God for strength. Where did he find such joy? Through ‘the infinite value of knowing Christ.’ Paul didn’t have it easy, but he’d nailed what it meant to really put Jesus first. Once he’d got that, he accepted the tough stuff that came his way, even took pleasure in it, knowing that God was using it for good. What now? Go learn Romans 12. Yeah, learn, not just read.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Jul 2013 22:50:49 +0000
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