In Times of Adversity

Every single one of us has been through something tough. Because of these hardships every single one of us has questioned Gods love and power. Through my times of trial I have realized we must understand why we must suffer these times in order to be able to overcome them.
Sin has been on earth as long as the first people have been. As soon as sin started so did suffering. God was ultimately in control of Adam & eves fall but he allowed them to sin. Why? So we would be capable of loving Him. If we were created to be Gods puppets, unable to choose sin, our love for him wouldn't be voluntary. And if love is involuntary its not love at all.
I don't know if any of you are parents but sometimes we allow our kids to make mistakes. As hard as it is, we watch it happen. I allow my kids to do this because I know that if I rescue them from everything they wont be very successful when they're older. Similarly a lot of times we create our own suffering because of our own sinful choices. If the lord tried to rescue us from these actions in order to prevent our suffering we never would develop into mature believers.
As believers in Christ we will always have an enemy. Unfortunately our enemy is very strong, sometimes stronger than us, and we will always be under attack by him. Satan is out to destroy our lives and our testimonys, making us weak and useless for God.
Ultimately God is in charge of all adversity that comes our way. To deny His involvement contradicts His Power and sovereignty over creation.
For us to accept that God allows, and even sends afflictions we must see adversity His way. As believers were assured that no adversity comes our way unless He can use it to achieve His good purposes.
Reading:
Isaiah 45:5-10
Reflect:
Is your focus on the pain of the experience or the Lord and His faithfulness?
Next time you feel Gods not there do you feel these points may help you?

The Power of Friendship

To be honest with you I don't have very many friends. I have my family and then a handful of people I keep close. I am 18 years old and many kids my age are still concerned with being popular and well-known. This just isn't a concern to me because I know that that handful of people will be there for me through and through and they have proven this time and time again. In the old testament the book of Ruth is such a powerful statement of friendship and family bonds.

In Ruth a woman, Naomi, loses her husband and then two sons and is left only with her daughter in-laws. Naomi decides she is going to go back to her hometown because there is nothing there for her anymore. Her two daughter in-laws protest but Naomi insisted that they go back to where they came from. One girl agrees to go but Ruth insists on staying with her mother in law. This was a huge deal in these Bible days because then a God was considered to rule only over one geographical region. A Moabite (what Ruth and her sister Orpah were) were going to be a disadvantage in Israel and Naomi didn't expect them to believe in her God. Pay special attention to verses 1:16-18 because these show a huge sacrifice. Ruth is willing to leave her own God no matter what it cost her to be with her mother in law. How many people do you know that would do this for you?

Reading:

Ruth 1.

Reflection:

-Do you surround yourself with people like Ruth who are willing to sacrifice everything, including the wrath of God for you?

-Are you a loving enough person to do this for anyone?

-Who knows what Ruth would have done had the circumstances been different. How much would it take for you to do this for someone? Death, sickness, or that they're just plain lonely?