“If God be for us, who can be against us?”   Romans 8:31

“We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose”.  Romans 8:28

Fear not, your need shall not exceed God’s provision!  God’s power knows no boundaries.

After Jesus had delivered His Sermon on the Mount, (Matthew, chapters 5-7), He declared: “Therefore whosoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house upon a rock.  The rain descended and the floods came, the winds blew and beat upon that house and it did not fall, for it was founded upon a rock.    And everyone who hears these sayings of mine and does not do them, shall be likened to a foolish man who built his house upon the sand.  The rain descended and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” Matthew 7: 24-27.

The man who built his house upon the rock still had to undergo life’s storms, but in those trials of faith, he proves God, applies the teachings of Jesus to his life, learns to trust Him more and his “house” stands firm because his foundation is built on the Rock of Jesus Christ.  He is not just a hearer of God’s word, but a “do-er” also, as Jesus taught.  The trials of life are our learning curves in God.  Here is where we have to do our “homework” to pass the “test”.

Consider the following in Paul’s letter to Timothy: “If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him….”, 2 Timothy 2:12.  Paul’s suffering was imprisonment with common criminals, but God redeemed that time by enabling him to write the many epistles of the New Testament which millions of Believers have benefited from.  He declared that although he was imprisoned, “……the word of God is not bound”, (2 Timothy 2:9).

Jesus, as the Son of Man, “….learned obedience through the things He suffered”, (Hebrews 5:8)….the things He allowed, yielding to His Father’s will in ALL things.  If we refuse to “suffer” (yield to His will under Holy Spirit guidance), then we will never “reign” with Him in the victory He won for us at Calvary.

Do we pray for God to change our circumstances?  Have we ever considered that He arranged them to change us?  So often our heart craves to be rid of adversity instead of seeking God there, not for deliverance, but to hear what He is saying in the trial.

Don’t ask God to change your circumstances.  He sent them to change you!

An attitude of willful impatience limits God’s work in our hearts.  At Art College a mature student was observing some of the new pupils in pottery class.  The clay they were given had to be thoroughly kneaded like bread, to remove all the air from it.  If air is present in the clay, when it goes into the kiln to be fired, the air would blow up and ruin the pot. (The work in our hearts is tested in adversity by the fire of the Holy Spirit.  When the work has been done, the heart is pure and the gold of God is produced for His glory.  Jesus said “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God”, Matthew 5:8.)  Some of the new students wanted to do a quick work with the clay and failed to take the teacher’s instruction to thoroughly knead the clay to remove all the air.  Thus when their pots were fired they blew.

Sometimes a wise teacher allows their pupils to make mistakes in order to learn from them.  A wise man will learn from his mistakes and not continue to repeat them.

With every new set of circumstances I face, God is seeking to do a work in my heart to change my believing, embrace humility and learn to completely trust Him, exchanging my will for His.  He is the God of my circumstances and they can be used for His glory.  When life’s storms come, my house will stand firm when I live in obedience to His words.  God will deliver me from circumstances when He has completed His work in my heart in the trial, and He sees the life of His Son reigning in me.  If we yield to Him, we will most certainly reign  with Him.

It is profitable to read 1 Peter 4 regarding “suffering”.

There is spiritual fruit produced from our yielding to Christ.  1 Peter 5:10 declares:  “But the God of all grace, who has called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered awhile, MAKE YOU PERFECT, STABLISH, STRENGTHEN AND SETTLE YOU”.

Have you done your “homework”?