Round 4 of our newest BI-MONTHLY feature:
"Men Weigh In"
"Men Weigh In"
The men have spoken (again) - and I believe you will be blessed by their responses (again). *smile* I know I have been! God never ceases to amaze me. The guys that are weighing in here (and right now there are five of them) are men that I know personally. Men that I have seen walking in Christ - sincerely - for years. Men who not only, talk the talk, but walk the walk - to the BEST of their abilities. They love Christ with all of their hearts, and I value and appreciate their input. These are our brothers in Christ. We are here to grow and evolve; they are doing the same. We will all surely be mutually blessed by the contributions they make and the conversation it provokes. I thought it best that they remain anonymous, so that they could share their responses freely and be completely transparent. So I had to come up with some "aliases" for these guys!! ;-) This way, as we hear from them each month you will be able to recognize which contributor it is you are hearing from. I asked them each to tell me their favorite book of the Bible - and this is how I came up with their SE names. ;-) So we have Brother Proverbs, Brother Ecclesiastes, Brother Job, Brother Colossians, and Brother Psalms.
I'm sure we all know men and women can look at something and see things COMPLETELY different. Or maybe that's just my experience... but I doubt it! Lol. With that being said, prayerfully, we will all be blessed, challenged, and encouraged to grow by exchanging perspectives and thought-provoking dialogue with the opposite sex.
-----------------------------------------------------
We asked: "What effect do hard times have on your relationship with Christ?"
They answered:
Brother Job, 32:
"Well for me it’s the hard times that brought me closer to GOD. My hard times birthed my relationship with GOD because they were so hard, there was no person who could help me through them. Now I’m not saying that the relationship was perfect, I would be angry at GOD a lot of the time because I didn’t understand. I didn’t understand WHY I was in the situation I was in. I didn’t understand why I was suffering from the pain that I was suffering from. I just didn’t understand it.
As my relationship with GOD got stronger my understanding of those painful situations became clearer. My mental state of mind became stronger, my faith increased, and I changed my life and attitude towards THE MOST HIGH. I read Philippians 4:11 “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” This scripture helped me understand why I had to sacrifice the way that I had to after losing my job. I always desired MORE and that ultimately left me unhappy. It wasn’t until I became content with my situation, no matter the situation, that I was able to find the true joy of GOD. I continued to try to live a better life, treat people the way I wanted to be treated, and I continued to believe that GOD would give me the desires of my heart when they were appropriate. It was once I began to do that, once I changed my perspective, that I have never been happier in my life. I had no job, no love interest in my life, I had to move out to a MUCH SMALLER apartment to live within my means, living in a city where I have no family, student loan people blowing my phone up, can’t support my family like I use to back home, and I was seeing all of my friends having fun and doing things that I wanted to do, but in the midst of all of that…I WAS HAPPY because I was content with where I was in life at that particular time. I knew when the time came GOD would BLESS me with what I needed, and after a while HE DID. I have a new job I started last week. I have a potential helpmeet in my life and we are growing together. I’ve learned that I will continue to live in my small apartment because it’s perfect for me. I’m able to support my family back home now and I can do all the things that I want to do, if I choose to do them. GOD is so FAITHFUL,
in Hebrews 6:10-15 “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.”And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.”
This scripture just reminded me that THE PROMISE IS STILL GOOD. Don’t stop being FAITHFUL and continue to be a HUMBLE SERVANT for the LORD and HIS PEOPLE. GOD hasn’t forget about your FAITH and YOUR WORKS. THE PROMISE IS STILL GOOD!! I’m a living TESTIMONY to that!!
As my relationship with GOD got stronger my understanding of those painful situations became clearer. My mental state of mind became stronger, my faith increased, and I changed my life and attitude towards THE MOST HIGH. I read Philippians 4:11 “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” This scripture helped me understand why I had to sacrifice the way that I had to after losing my job. I always desired MORE and that ultimately left me unhappy. It wasn’t until I became content with my situation, no matter the situation, that I was able to find the true joy of GOD. I continued to try to live a better life, treat people the way I wanted to be treated, and I continued to believe that GOD would give me the desires of my heart when they were appropriate. It was once I began to do that, once I changed my perspective, that I have never been happier in my life. I had no job, no love interest in my life, I had to move out to a MUCH SMALLER apartment to live within my means, living in a city where I have no family, student loan people blowing my phone up, can’t support my family like I use to back home, and I was seeing all of my friends having fun and doing things that I wanted to do, but in the midst of all of that…I WAS HAPPY because I was content with where I was in life at that particular time. I knew when the time came GOD would BLESS me with what I needed, and after a while HE DID. I have a new job I started last week. I have a potential helpmeet in my life and we are growing together. I’ve learned that I will continue to live in my small apartment because it’s perfect for me. I’m able to support my family back home now and I can do all the things that I want to do, if I choose to do them. GOD is so FAITHFUL,
in Hebrews 6:10-15 “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.”And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.”
This scripture just reminded me that THE PROMISE IS STILL GOOD. Don’t stop being FAITHFUL and continue to be a HUMBLE SERVANT for the LORD and HIS PEOPLE. GOD hasn’t forget about your FAITH and YOUR WORKS. THE PROMISE IS STILL GOOD!! I’m a living TESTIMONY to that!!
Brother Colossians, 43:
If you are like me, you have said to yourself, "If it's not one thing... it's another"! These immortal words have been chiseled within our psyche for years; almost to the point that they are doctrine. We almost come to expect hard times as being our way of life because we have co-existed with them for so long. That is certainly true, that they are our way of life. However, it isn't true from the pessimistic perspective (which seems to be the inherent implication) but rather from the optimistic perspective. These polar opposite views often clash within us, leaving an inward ambivalence and an outward melancholy attitude. Perhaps this explains the toxic, malignant negativity which travels throughout our ministries, families, and communities at epidemic proportions.
Yes, hard times are a way of life, but they serve to employ our faith and stimulate its exponential potential in growth to new realms. Romans 1:17 reveals that the righteousness of God is revealed within a believer from faith to faith because the just lives by faith. That scripture tells us that the author and finisher of our faith Heb 12:2 who is Christ Jesus, purposes to move our faith from that which is first to that which is last! How powerful is that! He dispenses a measure of faith that contains exponential potential, yet sub-contracts hard times to aide in its gestation incrementally. If not, we will live and die and never realize the awesome "worlds" that our faith had the capability to create... in Him! James chapter1 in its entirety expresses this powerful phenomenon explicitly. This is called "the trying of our faith" and the yield is far greater than any stock, bond or mutual fund. The economy of the Kingdom is so that God uses faith as the currency that tenders all Kingdom transactions!
So, rather than commiserating over the toughness of the times, rejoice over the toughness that those times developed within you!!! You will be amazed at how strong your faith has become... and allowed you to become. Finally, you would choose to endure those times all over again, as you look in the spiritual mirror and admire the spiritually-fit GIANT this process has shaped you to become!
Yes, hard times are a way of life, but they serve to employ our faith and stimulate its exponential potential in growth to new realms. Romans 1:17 reveals that the righteousness of God is revealed within a believer from faith to faith because the just lives by faith. That scripture tells us that the author and finisher of our faith Heb 12:2 who is Christ Jesus, purposes to move our faith from that which is first to that which is last! How powerful is that! He dispenses a measure of faith that contains exponential potential, yet sub-contracts hard times to aide in its gestation incrementally. If not, we will live and die and never realize the awesome "worlds" that our faith had the capability to create... in Him! James chapter1 in its entirety expresses this powerful phenomenon explicitly. This is called "the trying of our faith" and the yield is far greater than any stock, bond or mutual fund. The economy of the Kingdom is so that God uses faith as the currency that tenders all Kingdom transactions!
So, rather than commiserating over the toughness of the times, rejoice over the toughness that those times developed within you!!! You will be amazed at how strong your faith has become... and allowed you to become. Finally, you would choose to endure those times all over again, as you look in the spiritual mirror and admire the spiritually-fit GIANT this process has shaped you to become!
Brother Psalms, 42
What effect does hard times have on my relationship with God? All that I can say is that you couldn't have picked a better topic for "Men Weigh In" as I am experiencing this matter in more ways than one. You see back in 2005, I was living a good life, or so I thought. I was married with a beautiful family. I was making $90K annually. I was putting my wife through college. We had a nice home, separate cars, money in the bank, and everything seemed hunky dory. I thought I had it all! But throughout this "great life" I thought I had, I wasn't giving God any of my time. I wasn't tithing. I wasn't praying. I took life for granted. I was gambling, doing drugs, and barely going to church every blue moon. Well needless to say, satan reared his ugly head and I lost everything I had in an instant. I lost my family on a Saturday, my job the following Wednesday. Next came my home, my car, and almost my sanity. I was playing right into satan's hands. Although Job never wavered in his faith, I felt like him when I lost everything that I owned. I knew that God was trying to get my attention. I had to ask myself, "What is it going to take for me to grow in Christ, who is the author and finisher of our faith?" Hebrews 12:2 I knew that I had to increase my knowledge of Christ, my love for Christ, and my obedience to Him. I knew that I had to give Him my whole heart, soul, and mind....Matthew 22:37,38 I knew that I had to become a new creature in Christ first and foremost. Let the old things pass away. 2 Corinthians 5:17. I can tell you right now that I'm not where I want to be, but I can sure enough thank God that I'm not where I used to be. I am taking up my cross and I'm going with Him. I'm going through rough times now, but I'm maintaining my integrity, Job 2:3. I'm unemployed right now, but I'm trusting God and His will for my life. Thank You God for granting me patience. I will wait on You, never to waver in my faith ever again. Thank You for blessing me with the gift of discernment, humility, humbleness, the fruit of the spirit. I can't wait to share my testimony with "Men Weigh In" as God is working in and through me. Stay tuned my friends, the wait is over. I'm about to walk into my season. Blessings and Love, unconditionally!
---------------------------------------------------------
Thank you all for your responses. WOW, Men of GOD! Your responses, your testimonies, the words you have shared here, have TRULY blessed me! To GOD be the glory! Ladies, readers, let me take this moment to point out - the male contributors do NOT know one another, they do NOT see what the others are contributing until I post the articles here... I say all of that to say, my mind was BLOWN when I saw that both Brother Psalms AND Brother Colossians, shared and referenced the SAME verse in Hebrews -
Heb 12:2!!! "...let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, "
My God! We hear You, Lord. We are listening. God is truly trying to get us to see that He desires our faith to GROW! If trying times is what is is going to take in order for us to get THERE, then, so be it. Think back on some of the things you've been through in your own life... the lessons you learned... what you've overcome and how you are better and stronger for it - and more importantly, and hopefully, how your faith has grown - do you see the GOOD that may have come from the "bad"? Genesis 50:20 "But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive."
Heb 12:2!!! "...let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, "
My God! We hear You, Lord. We are listening. God is truly trying to get us to see that He desires our faith to GROW! If trying times is what is is going to take in order for us to get THERE, then, so be it. Think back on some of the things you've been through in your own life... the lessons you learned... what you've overcome and how you are better and stronger for it - and more importantly, and hopefully, how your faith has grown - do you see the GOOD that may have come from the "bad"? Genesis 50:20 "But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive."
So the question is, "What effect do hard times have on MY (your) relationship with Christ?"
You see, for me, hard times throw me into His arms and/or at His feet. For I know, where my strength, cometh from!! Oh, what a mighty God we serve! ....
I would like to point out though, the importance of establishing and cultivating a personal relationship with Christ now - today. We can't wait until the hard times hit, to throw ourselves in His arms. During the good and smooth times, is when we also have to stay in the word and spend that time in worship and prayer, so that we may prepare ourselves for the challenges that are to come. We can't pull on something or from something, that doesn not exist. If you do not have His word written on your heart, when you need it, when those trying times come, what do you have to stand on? God knows what lays ahead and if we seek HIM first and acknowledge Him in ALL our ways, He will deposit in us just what we need to face whatever comes our way - BEFORE it comes. He is so much more than amazing.
Sometimes when you are going through it, you think/feel as though you are all alone. That is not the case. God will never leave you or forsake you. Even when you feel as though you are alone, He is there. Consider this, as a Father, God wants the BEST for and from His children. Also, as a Father, He knows that at some point YOU have to learn how to STAND "on your own" and on HIS word... your faith HAS to grow. He knows that IF He does this thing for you now... again... you won't grow... you won't know Him in a greater capacity... you'll stay right where you are... Oh ye of little faith... And He wants MORE from you and for you! So Sisters, if/when you find yourself going through a challenging time, instead of asking God to change the circumstances, ask Him to reveal Himself to you. Ask God to help you see what it is, He desires for you to see and to learn. Seek Him diligently. Take your focus OFF your troubles, and place your focus on Him. Spend time in His word, in prayer, in fellowship with your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, spend time in worship... praise Him. Know that His word is true, and what He said He would do, He will do.
What are YOUR thoughts??
On the responses our brothers shared, on my thoughts, and/or on today's question,
"What effect do hard times have on YOUR relationship with Christ?"
"What effect do hard times have on YOUR relationship with Christ?"
We want to hear from you. Remember, we are here to provoke purposeful evolutionary dialogue. Chime in. You never know how what you have to say, may bless another.
Be blessed! ... And BE a blessing!
Be blessed! ... And BE a blessing!
This is a very interesting topic. In all actuality it should bring you closer to Christ. He know what is in our past (hard times) and whats in our future (good times) so it really should be a simple thing to figure out but the reality of whats going on in todays word can be extremely overwhelming for the average person.
ReplyDelete