THE GREATNESS OF OUR GOD (4)

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Dear friend, God has made it clear in His Word in Isaiah 55:8-9 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts."

Since this is the truth of God's Word, it should set the tone for today's post.

When a Christian experiences a tragedy like losing a loved one to death, what sometimes sets in is despair on the part of the Christian. The person is unable to understand why God allowed it to happen.

Tragedy can come in various forms to a Christian and it may not be because the person is a sinner or has offended God.

Most genuine Christians are usually shocked by such occurrences because they are not prepared for it and some may even begin to question their faith in God or whether God exists at all.

Usually God is also silent at these times and it does appear He has abandoned the Christian.

However, dear friend, if a Christian takes time to study God's Word in the Holy Bible, you will discover that certain individuals passed through similar tragedies but never lost their faith and trust in God.

One example of such individual is the Patriarch Abraham who did not have his first child, Ishmael until the age of 86 (Genesis 16:16) and Isaac the promised child from God at age 100 (Genesis 21:5).

God had promised Abraham a son when he was 75 years of age and in-between the promise and its fulfilment, Sarah, Abraham's wife tried to help God and Abraham by allowing Abraham have a child with her maid.

The child of promise did not come until some 25 year after God's promise.

We see another example in Joseph, Abraham's Great Grandson and son of Jacob or Israel, who was sold into slavery in Egypt by his brothers who were envious of their father's love for him.

Joseph later rose from obscurity to become the second most powerful person in Egypt over a period of 13 whole years! (Genesis 37, 39-41).

Another example is seen in Job whom, with God's permission, satan was allowed to afflict with loss of his family and fortune. In all these, Job never cursed God and eventually God restored to him all he had lost and blessed his latter days more than the former (Job 42:12).

Dear friend, in all these examples of men who passed through trials, one thing is common - they never despaired but trusted in God all the way until He, God Almighty, Who ALONE is able to do all things, responded and blessed them.

Another thing that is common is that God solved their problem because He has the ability to do so without any hindrance.

So the question one might ask is, why does God allow Christians, His favourites today, to pass through difficulties?

The Apostle Peter gives us the answer in God's Word in 1 Peter 1:5-9 "who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,

8 whom, having not seen, you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls."

Dear friend, the truth is, if God were to allow us have our way in all things, soon enough the tendency will be that Christians would forget God as the one doing all things for us and they would begin to misbehave even as we see today amongst some Christians whom God has blessed and who have suddenly begin to behave as though they did it.

How sad!

God allows tragedies to happen to Christians to shake them from complacency to look again for Him, God, and having found Him, to restore their relationship with Him as an assurance and reminder about our home in heaven, which is the ultimate goal.

Dear friend, this, again, is the Greatness of our God who loves us so much and does not want us to perish with satan and demons and their agents forever in hell.

God is always working through various means to draw us back to Him. He does these things because He loves us. He can come directly by Himself as He does at times but He also demands Christians who are strong in faith to encourage and strenghten the weak ones, the ignorant ones and the backslidden ones.

God also expects Christians to work with Him to go make disciples of nations of every race of non-Christians, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and commanding them to obey all the teachings of Jesus Christ as found in His Word in the Holy Bible (Matthew 28:18-20).

Dear friend, now that you understand, please ensure to encourage others who experience tragedies and also ensure to partake in the work of evangelism as I have just done with this message.

By God's grace I also share the Gospel on Facebook and via Blackberry Messenger because our Lord Jesus Christ has commanded us to do so.

May the good Lord bless you as you heed His Holy Word today, act on it and share with others in Jesus' Most Holy Name, Amen.


Gabriel Ama.

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