let me ask you to think about your greatest need. it may be an emotional need, a relational, physical, whatever. get that need in your mind and then let me ask you this: which of these four tests are you going through right now where GOD’s testing your faith in how much you’re going to trust HIM.
are you going through the pressure test? and is HE seeing how am i going to handle stress? turn to HIM or turn to other things to relieve my stress?
how about the people test? how are you handing a disappointment? are you complaining about it? are you griping about it? or are you realizing that GOD is a loving GOD and HE knows what’s best for you. maybe you’re trusting in the wrong thing because anyone who trusts in GOD will not be disappointed.
how about the persistence test? are you keeping your commitments? everybody starts off great at the beginning of the marathon but they start giving out about half way through. are you keeping your commitments to other people and even to GOD? it’s a test.
and the priorities test. what is first in my life?
some of you are saying, “i don’t think i’m going to pass this test. any of them. because i’m tired, worn out, weak, fatigued. i don’t think i have the energy to make this thing last.” what do you do?
look at GOD’s promise. isaiah 30.15 (ncv), this is what GOD says: “if you come back to ME and trust ME you will be saved and you will be strong.”
notice two things: salvation and strength. you’ll be saved and you’ll be strong. you’ll have the strength you need to do the right thing if you come back to ME and trust ME. that is a promise.
not only that, but GOD has eternal rewards in store for you if you pass these tests. GOD blesses the people who patiently endure testing. afterwards they will receive the crown of life that GOD has promised to those that love HIM. james 1.12 (nlt)
what is a crown of life? a symbol. a crown of life is a symbol of all that GOD wants to do in your life, all the blessings HE wants to bestow on you, all the needs HE wants to meet, all the rewards HE wants to give you in heaven. it’s all that GOD has planned for you if you will just trust HIM. it’s a symbol – the crown of life.
GOD has eternal rewards when we pass the great tests of life. when you depend on CHRIST when you’re under stress, when you trust GOD’s plan when you’re disappointed, when you keep your commitments even when it hurts, when you put GOD first in your thoughts and in your money and in your time (your schedule and your budget) GOD says two things: one, I will meet all your needs. two, I will give you eternal rewards in heaven. what a deal!
just a great thought from the front porch…
Showing posts with label people test. Show all posts
Showing posts with label people test. Show all posts
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
why you are disappointed...
the bible says this in isaiah 2.22 (ncv), you should stop trusting in people to save you because people are only human.
don’t expect a person to be the answer to all your problems. it’s not going to happen. if you do that you’re going to set yourself up. there is only one SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST. stop expecting anyone or anything else to be your savior.
jeremiah 17.7 (nlt), blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made him [not other people] their hope and confidence.
what happens if you do this? look at GOD’s promise in isaiah 49.23 (ncv), anyone who trusts in ME will not be disappointed.
do you know why you’re disappointed? because you’re trusting in other things besides GOD.
you thought, “this experience will make me happy,” and it didn’t so you’re disappointed. then you thought, “this person in my life will meet my needs,” so now you’re disappointed. or you thought, “if i could just achieve this level of success and achievement, then i’ll be happy and satisfied,” and it didn’t make you happy and satisfied and you’re disappointed.
this person, this event, this thing… if i can just buy this car… and then it disappointed you. any time you are disappointed, it is a warning light that you have trusted in something else for your happiness besides GOD. it’s a big red light that says you’ve got your values misplaced.
just a thought from the front porch…
don’t expect a person to be the answer to all your problems. it’s not going to happen. if you do that you’re going to set yourself up. there is only one SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST. stop expecting anyone or anything else to be your savior.
jeremiah 17.7 (nlt), blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made him [not other people] their hope and confidence.
what happens if you do this? look at GOD’s promise in isaiah 49.23 (ncv), anyone who trusts in ME will not be disappointed.
do you know why you’re disappointed? because you’re trusting in other things besides GOD.
you thought, “this experience will make me happy,” and it didn’t so you’re disappointed. then you thought, “this person in my life will meet my needs,” so now you’re disappointed. or you thought, “if i could just achieve this level of success and achievement, then i’ll be happy and satisfied,” and it didn’t make you happy and satisfied and you’re disappointed.
this person, this event, this thing… if i can just buy this car… and then it disappointed you. any time you are disappointed, it is a warning light that you have trusted in something else for your happiness besides GOD. it’s a big red light that says you’ve got your values misplaced.
just a thought from the front porch…
Sunday, April 18, 2010
life can be disappointing...
the people test is another test that GOD uses. GOD often uses people in your life to test and stretch and develop your faith. this test is "how will i handle disappointment?"
life is often disappointing. things don’t turn out the way we planned them. careers don’t turn out the way you plan them. marriages don’t turn out the way you plan them. plans don’t turn out the way you plan them! the fact is life is disappointing a lot of the time. but the most disappointing thing in life is people. why do we get disappointed by people in life?
you get disappointed by people when you expect them to meet a need in your life that only GOD HIMself can meet. when you turn to a boyfriend or a girlfriend or a father or a mother or a husband or a wife or a friend and you expect them to meet all your needs, you’re setting yourself up for massive, massive disappointment.
GOD never intended that for anybody! nobody could possibly meet all your needs. and when they let you down, you think, “what’s wrong with you?” the problem is you. you put an expectation on them that they couldn’t possibly fulfill.
this is a test! so many of you have thought in the past, “if only i could get married, then i would be fulfilled and satisfied…. if only my wife/my husband would change, then all my problems would be solved…. if only my children were different – like their children next door – then i would be so contented…. if i had just had different parents, life would have been a whole lot grander.”
your problem is not the people in your life. your problem is your response to the people in your life.
people are not the problem and they’re not the answer to the problem either. the answer to your insecurity is not another person. the answer to your inferiority is not another person. the answer to your worries and your fears is not another person. the answer to your depression and despair and discouragement is not another person. the answer to your sense of failure is not another person. and the answer to your meaninglessness in life, your lack of purpose and your boredom with life, your deep dissatisfaction is not another person.
the answer is GOD.
when you expect other people to be your savior, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment.
just a thought from the front porch…
life is often disappointing. things don’t turn out the way we planned them. careers don’t turn out the way you plan them. marriages don’t turn out the way you plan them. plans don’t turn out the way you plan them! the fact is life is disappointing a lot of the time. but the most disappointing thing in life is people. why do we get disappointed by people in life?
you get disappointed by people when you expect them to meet a need in your life that only GOD HIMself can meet. when you turn to a boyfriend or a girlfriend or a father or a mother or a husband or a wife or a friend and you expect them to meet all your needs, you’re setting yourself up for massive, massive disappointment.
GOD never intended that for anybody! nobody could possibly meet all your needs. and when they let you down, you think, “what’s wrong with you?” the problem is you. you put an expectation on them that they couldn’t possibly fulfill.
this is a test! so many of you have thought in the past, “if only i could get married, then i would be fulfilled and satisfied…. if only my wife/my husband would change, then all my problems would be solved…. if only my children were different – like their children next door – then i would be so contented…. if i had just had different parents, life would have been a whole lot grander.”
your problem is not the people in your life. your problem is your response to the people in your life.
people are not the problem and they’re not the answer to the problem either. the answer to your insecurity is not another person. the answer to your inferiority is not another person. the answer to your worries and your fears is not another person. the answer to your depression and despair and discouragement is not another person. the answer to your sense of failure is not another person. and the answer to your meaninglessness in life, your lack of purpose and your boredom with life, your deep dissatisfaction is not another person.
the answer is GOD.
when you expect other people to be your savior, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment.
just a thought from the front porch…
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