Jeremiah 14:11-16:15, 1 Thessalonians 1:9-3:13, Psalms 80:1-19, Proverbs 25:1-5
What God said to me – You live in a temporal world where the focus is on the physical – the here and now. The problem with that is that I have created you as eternal beings and everything that happens in your life is part of My plan to accomplish My purpose and to prepare you for eternity. Most people want a peaceful, prosperous, wonderful life but with few exceptions, that is not where you dig in and grow spiritually – it is usually the opposite – in the difficult and trying times you cling to Me and grow stronger in your faith. When tough times come for yourself or those you love, your first inclination is to cry out to Me to get out of them. When the people of Israel were in the midst of judgment I told My prophet, Jeremiah, not to pray for their welfare because I was using their circumstances to cleanse and refine them and to draw them back to Me. Paul told the Thessalonians that he knew he was destined for affliction and persecution. He understood I was using these things to grow him and to grow the spread of the gospel as he moved from place to place because of it. Rather than focusing your prayers on the temporal – on situations – learn to focus on the eternal – pray that you would be established in holiness – pray that you would know Me in all My fullness – pray that you would be without blame and unashamed at My coming.