Suffering & chastening

***Those who live godly are not promised prosperity and health or are kept from suffering. We are conformed to Christ’s likeness through suffering. It is the potters hand putting pressure on the clay. If there is no suffering there is no learning. ***Difficulties is what makes us strong inside, a life of pleasantries and comfort soothes the flesh and makes one relax,asleep. If we were to be delivered out of every trial, we would be weak in spirit. The harder it is for us the more beneficial the outcome.
*** So we need to view everything as coming from God. The good the bad, because He has allowed it for a reason, we cannot see right now. He is sovereign, He holds the keys. It is all through the pierced hands of our Savior for our good & His glory.
*** If we value comfort more than character, then trials will upset us. If we value the material & physical more than the spiritual, we will not be able to count it all joy, if we live only for the present & forget the future, then trials will make us bitter not better. ***Christianity is not just worshiping God in the good times of blessings, but also in the valleys & the hardships. Jesus said to follow Him, one must pick up their cross & die to self. Paul was able to preach Christ with more conviction because he had a brokenness/weaknesses. ***God gives us the ability to abide through the trials, it is our choice how we respond. If we respond right, character is built in us, our faith is strengthened.
*** He is always watching over the silver/gold, so there is no damage by the heat. He works the process over & over until He can see His image in the silver/gold. Each heated fire brings the material clearer & purer until He knows all the impurities are gone. ***Its for one purpose to make us into the image of himself. God sees His image in His son & the Son changes us into His image through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.
***Today the word faith movement says it is Satan who kills & judges only. This is false. There are two areas that judgment can come from Satan ( which God must allow it first for it to be possible) and also from Gods hands himself. The truth is God judges & can actually afflict people.

***By being content in His trial it shows they have great faith & are trusting in God s sovereignty. If we have a joyful attitude in adverse situations we will see God empower us & give us the Holy Spirit. It is a choice we have to make ourselves, it is not God making it for us. We can know God through our suffering & there is even a reward for it, Crown of Life. There is a blessing pronounced on those who endure under affliction & temptations , how do we handle the various testing's & trials.

*** There are always two forces at work, one is Gods purpose, the other is the enemy of our souls -when he sees we are weak wants to take advantage of our weakest moments.