Thoughts for Life: Every Hardship

Julie Ackerman Link tells us:
Like many towns, Enterprise,
Alabama, has a prominent monument.

But the monument in Enterprise is unlike any other.

The statue doesn't recognize a leading citizen; it celebrates the work of a beetle.

In the early 1900s, this boll weevil made its way from Mexico to the southern US.

Within a few years it had destroyed entire crops of cotton, the primary source of revenue.

In desperation, farmers started growing another crop — peanuts.

Realizing they had been dependent on one crop for too long, they credited the beetle with forcing them to diversify, which led to increased prosperity.

The boll weevil is like things that come into our lives and destroy what we have worked hard to accomplish.

Devastation results — sometimes financial, emotional, or physical— and it is frightening.

We witness the end of life as we know it. But as the people of Enterprise learned, the loss of what is old is an opportunity to discover something new.

God may use hardship to get us to give up a bad habit or learn a
new virtue. He used a thorn in Paul's flesh to teach him about grace (2 Cor. 12:7-9).

Instead of striving to preserve old habits that are no longer effective, we can view every hardship as an opportunity for God to cultivate a new virtue in us. —Julie Ackerman Link

(Google image added)

"O much-tried saint, with fainting heart,

The thorn with its abiding pain,

With all its wearing, ceaseless ache,

Can be the means of priceless gain. —Anon.

God uses bitter experiences to make us better"

Our Daily Bread 9/28/14

Let’s pray:

Father, as You may use hardship to get us to give up a bad habit or learn a new virtue, I'm open to have You show me the need I have.

Because You are willing to help us relearn things that will improve our situations, I ask for help in what You point out in my thinking that's wrong, and which needs some adjusting.

Help me remember that in every opportunity You give me to change, there will be opportunities for me to learn new virtues.

I ask for grace to be applied to my life, as I long to honor You, dear Jesus. Amen.

Today’s Bible verse: Is. 7:4a "...Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted..."

Today’s quotes: Dave Egner – “We may face sorrow, pain, and hardship, but we don’t have to sink into self-pity. The same God who allows our suffering also showers us with His compassion
(Lam. 3:32). With God’s love lifting us up, we can – if we have to – ‘play’ in pain.”

- Our Daily Bread – “God either spares you from suffering or gives you the grace to bear it.” 6/19/13

- Jennifer Benson Schuldt - "We can Trust that God faithfully helps us as we endure hardship. We can say with Jeremiah,

"The LORD is with me as a mighty, awesome One" (Jer. 20:11)

Some thoughts today: Let your tongue give God praise! What a privilege to meet with other Christians for praise and worship!

- Be confident that God will not be undone by your difficulties. He is well aware, and He knows how to guide you to be a victor, and not a victim.

- Persecution and problems cause us to go to God for His help to have understanding, as to what's going on, why, and what to do about it. We are to grow in our faith through them.

In the Eye of the Storm Check out Max Lucado's book. (The first chapter is titled: From Calm to Chaos.)

Turning Your PAIN into GAIN "This powerful new book from #1 New York Times bestselling author Dr. Mike Evens is a must read for everyone who has endured pain and suffering in the past.
Abuse can stunt personal development, distort our perceptions of God, and poison relationships with others...but it doesn't have to! God has a plan to give you a victorious life and a bright future. This book shows you that plan."

19th- Sunday evening’s post: Mysterious Ways: A Doorbell Disturbance Larry Rohloff

21st- Tuesday's post: #9 Argentina's Decline
C. Peter Wagner

23rd- Thursday's post: #10 Spiritual Vitality
C. Peter Wagner

25th- Saturday's post: How Do Others Experience Me?
Christine Wyrtzen

A popular post: This Path is for Me

David Roper shares with us in his book, Psalm 23, "The Song of a Passionate Heart"
a poem by J. R. Miller:

"He chose his path for me,
Though well he knew that thorns would pierce my feet,
Knew how the brambles would obstruct the way,
Knew all the hidden dangers I would meet,
Knew how my faith would falter day by day;
And still my whisper echoes, "Yes I see..."
This path is best for me."

"Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea,
Or demons or men, or whatever it be
No waters can swallow the ship where lies
The Master of the ocean, and earth, and skies. - Baker

One need not cry out very loudly; He is

nearer to us than we think."

- Brother Lawrence
ODB 10/2/14