Sharing in each others suffering(part 6)

Dear friends,

Warm greetings in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I want to begin this reflection by asking you three specific questions.

Have you ever brought a situation before God in prayer? Secondly did that situation also involve a reasonable deadline which was missed? Thirdly does it appear that God remained silent even though all the deadlines had been exceeded?

My cherished friend, if your answer to any of the above questions is in the affirmative, perhaps even a straighforward 'yes' then we have a common quest in this reflection: To discover how to respond in line with God's Word, and uphold His truthful principles when we are confronted with such a situation.In this part i will give some examples from the Bible about how two individuals were under pressure to respond in very difficult circumstances: Ruth in the Old Testament and Peter in the New.

Because these series of reflections are really about 'Sharing in Each others suffering' i need to identify the meaning of suffering within this conext
Individuals, families and whole communites experience a degree of suffering when they ask for a Divine Intervention or for God's help in prayer but do not appear to receive any response.In such a situation we feel vulnerable. Then we are under pressure a)to give up b)to give in to a compromise or c)give in to values that are different from our own.

An example of how suffering placed pressure on an individual can be illustrated in the response Job's wife gave to his suffering.As she watched her husband's body ravaged with disease and boils she said to him '.....Are you still holding on to your intergrity?Curse God and die!''(Job 2:9).

Many individuals respond to suffering as Job's wife did.They build a lot of resentment against God over a period when no feedback is received from Him.

Others go quickly for a plan B rather than wait any further for God's help. They leave God out of the equation of their day to day decisions.There are examples in the Bible of individuals who appeared to leave God out of the picture for a while due to a temporal setback or hardship.

A lady called Naomi for example went to a land called Moab (Ruth 1:1-15). It is not clear how she could have practiced her faith in a land known for idolatory and promiscuity(Numbers 25:1-5). Something about the land of moab was associated with 'temptation' then compromise and 'premature death' as a result of God's judgement. However, it seems Naomi,and her husband with their two sons were under pressure to DO SOMETHING IN ORDER TO SURVIVE.SO THEY TOOK THE RISK AND WENT TO THE LAND OF MOAB(Ruth 1:1-2).

What was not surprising is that tragedy occurred in the land of Moab. Naomi lost all his family that she had arrived in Moab with. It was at that stage through some deep reflection, Naomi decided to return to her land where she could practice her faith.

It is not clear if Naomi , her late husband Elimelech and sons actually practiced idolatory or any of the sins prevalent in the land of Moab.But there is a good example about how an individual under tremendous pressure actually participated in the values of those around him.This is the story of Peter when he denied Jesus Christ (Matthew 26:69-75).

Perhaps each of us reading this have at one stage or the other struggled for meaning to our particular struggle. It becomes more difficult to cope if after a geninue effort to listen to God we still cannot identify His respone.

Friends, i personally believe God has a specific response to each of our situation. He will respond to us although HE MAY NOT CHOOSE TO COMMUNICATE IT THROUGH THE MEDIA WE CHOOSE.I BELIEVE JESUS CHRIST SPEAKS TO US ABOUT OUR OWN NEED, OUR OWN PAIN AS WE GET INVOLVED IN THE PAIN AND THE NEEDS OF OTHERS.I believe that if there is going to be a resonse from God about how He will deal with our particular need it is linked to being involved in the needs of ohers. I INTEND TO EXPLAIN THIS A BIT MORE IN THE NEXT REFLECTION. I want to share his scripture with you 'If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it.' 1 Corinthians 12:26(to be continued)

God bless you

John

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Dear friends, let us conduct a spiritual health check on ourselves.
Jesus Christ says in His word 'Behold I stand at the door and knock,
if anyone hears my voice and opens the door and lets me in, I will
come in and dine with him/her and him/her with me (Revelation 3:20
paraphrased). Anyone who accepts God's diagnosis of his/her
spiritually and morally bankrupt status and 'surrenders' every excuse
to God is opening the door to the PRINCE OF PEACE! The penalty for sin
is a life of disillusionment and an uncertain eternal destiny which is
'guaranteed' to include a sort of capital punishment for the human
soul. But eternal life or life that issues from God but continues in
His presence even after we depart this earth is guaranteed when we
surrender our lives to Him.
Please join me in prayer and let this be a sincere prayer from the heart too that you say audibly:


Dear Jesus, son of the living God, I recognise that I am a sinner. I
repent from my sin and surrender my life to you. Please forgive me of
and cleanse me with your precious blood. I invite you into my heart to
live in me and be my saviour and Lord. Thank you for saving me. Amen.



Thank you for praying and if you have received this e-mail because it
was forwarded to you by a friend or family do let me know by e-mailing
me at john@vocation4lifefoundation.org. Meanwhile, if you are praying
this prayer sincerely for the first time find a Bible or contact me to
send you one. In addition ask God to lead you to a church that
believes and teaches the truth of God's word, especially that Jesus
Christ is the only name given among men whereby men and women can be
saved(Acts 4:12).