Dear Heavenly Father,
Many of us are waiting on You to do something great in our lives. The road that we have been traveling hasn’t been easy, and those familiar with our struggles encourage us to keep holding on to Your unchanging hands. Sometimes, Father, we get knocked down. There are things that we deal with on our jobs, in our families, and even in our faith communities that are painful. People that we thought we could count on have turned their backs when we needed them most. Both family members and friends have let us down, yet, we have taken it all in stride. Each time we get back up, and we do it because we know You have something waiting for us on the other side of this trouble.
Father, You let us know in Romans 5:3 that we ought to continue to shout our praise to You even when trouble is all around us. There’s a lesson in our troubles, and sometimes this is the thing we miss. We must never lose sight of the reality that You are preparing us through this earth experience. The example of Jesus Christ is the benchmark for us every moment of each day. You will never leave us or forsake us. As we endure through troubling situations, You are teaching us to be patient through the process and to continually seek You and Your righteousness.
You want us to have the mind and heart of Jesus Christ. This is your goal for every believer. As we patiently endure, You are doing a work on the inside of us. And this work keeps us alert for whatever You want us to do. You’re looking at how we respond to pressure. You’re making note of our commitment to stand in faith regardless of how things appear. You will never leave us shortchanged. You won’t forget to bless us, but our obedience and spiritual growth is very important.
Before You bless us with something great, You want to make sure we are spiritually prepared to handle it. You command us to be abled and good stewards of Your blessings, so that we don’t hoard them for ourselves, but use them in such a way that they are gifts that keep on giving. So, while we’re wading through the process of preparation, we are not to be twiddling our thumbs. We should be asking ourselves, “What can I do for You next, Father? How can I please You more?”
Troubles and problems purify our intentions, they reflect the genuine nature of our love for You. They can also demonstrate if a person isn’t really interested in a deep and abiding relationship with You, but just wants to receive Your blessings. Some people just want to be comfortable at all costs, and they could care less about their spiritual growth in Christ. We don’t want to be like those individuals, Father. We want to stand strong in Christ because You deserve this from us. You deserve every praise and every ounce of glory we can give You.
Thank You, Father, for reminding of us who we are in Christ, and for helping us continue to stand strong, even if we have to do it without the people we thought would stand by us. Romans 8:31,37 tells us that if You are for us, who would dare be against us. For we are more than conquerors through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and as long as we have You, we have all we need.
Thank You for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and for the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Please let Your Will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In the precious and powerful name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Before God Blesses You with Something Great”, written by K. Lizzie, edited by Reverend Fran Mack for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2019. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.