How NOT to give up, when problems and trials are all around II

ByMācītājs Rufus Adžiboije Reading Time: 3 minutes

I am glad to welcome each one of you to „Daily Word for Spiritual Edification”!

Yesterday we started talking about how not to give up, when problems and trials are all around us. Today we are going to continue about it and I would like to share with you where we can find the strength for it.

In order for us not to give up when dealing with hardships and challenges we must know that problems are a common thing and a part of life. Nobody is secured against them no matter how big your love for God is. If you think that you are the only one with problems and the others don’t have any, then you set yourself up for failure. Here is what the Word of God says about it: «Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter» (1 Peter, 4: 12-16).

The Bible clearly talks about temptations, sorrows and suffering being a regular part of life and not to be considered as something strange. You mustn’t wonder why these things come into your life. In Paul’s letter to Timothy it says, «…persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me in Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra – what persecutions I endured. And out of them all them Lord delivered me. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution» (2 Timothy, 3: 11-12).

As you see, Paul did not consider it strange when different afflictions, persecutions, hardships and slandering happened to him. He knew that all these things are common so he prepared for them. It is no surprise that in all these afflictions Paul could speak of victory, «… out of them all the Lord delivered me».

If a person understands that temptations are inevitable, then he begins to arm himself with all the necessary weapons that help him to overcome these temptations. God is obliged to give victory to such a person. That is why Paul reminds his spiritual son Timothy about the fact that afflictions and temptations are inevitable and it is necessary for a person to prepare himself to overcome these temptations.

Today God desires to remind every one of us that hardships and tests are inevitable in this world and in the life of every person so that we can prepare ourselves and be ready to overcome them. I wish you to win many victories in this life.

God bless you!

Pastor Rufus Ajiboye

Similar Posts

  • We are created in Christ Jesus

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes
    It means that in Christ we can discover our gifts and find use for them in compliance with God’s predestination. It also means that in Christ Jesus we are guaranteed satisfaction with life. «You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive; You have received gifts among men, even from the rebellious, that the LORD God might dwell there»(Psalm, 68:18).

  • Do not focus of what you do not have; simply go ahead and use what you have!

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes
    Every human being is a unique work of God. Every one has been given unique abilities and talents. There isn’t one unnecessary person on this earth; there isn’t one insignificant talent or ability. Everything that God created is needed by someone and is intended as a blessing for someone. Look at yourself today in a new light and see that you are a unique personality highly gifted by God; you are a unique specimen. There isn’t another person on this earth like you! But sometimes we are distracted when we start comparing ourselves to others and envying them just because they have something we do not have. For this reason we stop appreciating the things that God has given us and sometimes it makes us passive and inert.

  • How to turn tragedy into triumph?

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes
    The world we are living in is full of tragedies, so the word tragedy itself is well known to all of us either christians or pagans. Though, studying the Bible, we understand that the in God´s initial purpose for human kind was something different. The Bible affirms God blessed a man.«God blessed them. God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”» (Genesis 1:28)

  • The blessedness or beauty of serving others! III

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 5 minutes
    Ministry and giving determines the measure of one’s spiritual growth and maturity. It also determines how much I bear a resemblance to Jesus Christ. God wants us to grow spiritually. One of the indications of one’s spiritual growth is how he or she fulfils the needs of others. Such a person not only takes and receives, but also gives. Giving and ministry is one and the same word that determines how much of resemblance to Jesus Christ I bear.It says in the Bible that Jesus came to this earth to serve and not to be served. He is the example of a minister. Many of us want others to serve us. God says that we should minister and serve others. He wants us to be like Jesus.

  • Do not live without vision!

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 2 minutes
    Today I would like to share with you a word about building or constructing your future. The truth is that we are a product of what we see. In order for us to reach any goals in life, we have to first see (visualize or imagine) them. So many people do not advance and move forward because of the lack of vision; they only live in the ‘now’. Very often people do not have any future plans; they do not have a clue of what goals they want to reach in this life.

  • Value God’s Word!

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 3 minutes
    Today God wants to tell us the same thing. The Word of God is life to us. When God sends us His Word, He offers us life. Rejecting the Word of God we reject life itself. Moses says about God’s Word: «For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life…»It is extremely important for us to appreciate the Word of God and not to treat it as something futile, – it is not like a song that we have listened to and then gone to do our own will. It should be to us like the greatest treasure. We have to value God’s Word, to hide it in our hearts, to appreciate it because it is life to us. God says that through the Word and through our right attitude towards it we can extend or prolong our days. Our attitude toward the Word determines whether we will extend our life or shorten it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *