Good morning everyone. Oh give thanks unto the Lord for He is good yes He is good and worthy of our praise. There are so many of us going through rough situations in our lives right now, but I’m here to pass on some words of encouragement.
Today’s Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, I have had so many needs come before me in the last few days. So many people are standing in the need of prayer. Please intervene, heal, comfort, provide, have mercy upon all those who are sick, sick and tired of being sick and tired, unemployed, heartbroken, in bondage to addiction of any kind, tormented by emotional problems or mental illness, lonely, just up out of the pit of sin and walking in the light, in need of courage and strength, grieving, traveling, moving, going through changes, needing direction and wisdom, and so much more. Thank you Father, for your tender mercies, your everlasting love, your ever presence, and for hearing our heart cries. Help me to help others. Help me to remain faithful. Help me to make the right decisions and do the right things. Please help me that I will glorify you. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.
Let’s eat.
The Value of Hard Places
So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
– 2 Corinthians 4:12
What I’m getting ready to share is going to be very helpful to all that receive it. Being forced into hard places gives us a whole new perspective on life. Things we once valued no longer hold the same value. Small things become big things, and what we once thought big no longer holds very much importance.
These hard places allow us to identify with the sufferings of others. It keeps us from having a shallow view of the hardships of others and allows us to truly identify with them. Those who speak of such trials from no experience often judge others who have had such hardship. It is a tastelessness of Christian experience that often permeates shallow believers.
Those who have walked in hard places immediately have a kinship with others who have walked there also. They don’t need to explain; they merely look at one another with mutual respect and admiration for their common experience. They know that death has worked a special thing in them. This death leads to life in others because of the hard places God has taken them through.
It’s impossible to appreciate any valley experience while you are in it. However, once you have reached the top of the mountain, you are able to appreciate what environment you have passed through. You marvel at what you were able to walk through. The valley of the shadow of death has yielded more than you ever thought possible. You are able to appreciate the beauty of the experience and lay aside the sorrow and pain it may have produced.
Death works in you for a greater purpose. If you are there today, be assured that God is producing something of much greater value than you will ever know.
Quote of the Day
“The cross is laid on every Christian…. When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die. It may be a death like that of the first disciples who had to leave home and work to follow Him, or it may be a death like Luther’s, who had to leave the monastery and go out into the world. But it is the same death every time – death in Jesus Christ, the death of the old man at His call. Jesus’ summons to the rich young man was calling him to die, because only the man who is dead to his own will can follow Christ. In fact, every command of Jesus is a call to die, with all our affections and lusts. But we do not want to die, and therefore Jesus Christ and his call are necessarily our death as well as our life.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
WITH HOPE AND FAITH; follow us on the foundation community site: http://facebook.com/therelationshipfactory
REV. ELDER G E STERRETT
FOUNDER
GCKRS HELPING HAND FOUNDATION & THE RELATIONSHIP FACTORY
http://gckrshelpinghandfoundation.info