God is my Fortress and I am his Vessel 💚

Intimate In Adversity

2 Corinthians 11:23-28
▪️What God is trying to teach us through our difficulties?
▪️Why the Lord allowed this to happen to apostle Paul?

✔️ ALL ADVERSITY IS NOT BAD
▪️ God used his hardships to accomplish his will in apostle Paul's life
▪️He was in prison in order for him to write and encourage people about God. (Ephesians, Philippians, Corinthians)
▪️God accomplishes his great plans by letting us experience hardships in life.

🔻 Characteristics of Adversity
✔️ADVERSITY IS UNIVERSAL
📌 everywhere and every area can affect in our life
✔️ ADVERSITY IS IMPARTIAL
📌 We live in a foreign world. Trouble comes to all of us: believers or unbelievers, educated or not.
✔️ ADVERSITY IS PAINFUL
📌 Physical, emotional, relational. Whatever the source, it hurts.
✔️ SOMETIMES ADVERSITY COMES SUDDENLY
📌 No one is prepared.
✔️ TIMES OF ADVERSITY MAY BE PROLONGED
📌 But it's not permanent. Life changes. God has good plans for all of us.
✔️ IT MAY BE INTENSE
📌 We may hurt so badly that even those who comfort will feel the pain.
📌 Beyond our control.

🔺 We often ask two primary questions; WHY?
▪️God understands our limited understanding. Because he knows his good intentions why he allowed those adversities in our life. He sees our future. Sometimes he reveals our plans for us but often we won't understand. In the meantime, we can trust him knowing he always works his best. 😌
WHO?
▪️We want to know whose fault why we experience those pains. But the real culprit is just US. Sometimes we make our own troubles and create our own pain. You reap what you sow. Your decisions from the past shows where you are now today. SATAN cause distress and adversities because he hates God's children. GOD is sovereign. He controls every pain we are feeling. He is in control that's why it's important to remember how much he loves us. He allows us experience those pains because he has something good he wants to accomplish in us.

✔️ RESPONSES TO ADVERSITIES
Hardships and sufferings will either drive us closer to the Lord or away from him.
❌
▪️Blame. When we response by blaming others which will only intensify our anger and bitterness. STOP BLAMING OTHERS.
▪️Excuse. Our response when we want to avoid the pain. We don't use our senses. We find other outlets to escape the pain. We thought it's the solutions to our sufferings but it only complicates our life.
▪️Denial. If we claim all is well when it isn't, we will just continue to suffer internal hurt and anger. You need to release and admit before it explodes.
▪️Self-pity. Pity party never accomplishes anything positive. It simply displays our unwillingness to take responsibility for the situation.
✔️
▪️ SEEK THE LORD, while you can find him. Go to the Lord and open your heart in your confusions and pains. Ask for help to the Lord. He doesn't take delights in our sufferings but wants us to achieve what's best for us. He wants us to accomplish something from our experiences.

PRINCIPLES TO HELP US THROUGH ADVERSITY:
If we are confident in the Lord's love to us. We will be able to understand and trust him and respond in a way that benefit us.
• Adversity is one of Gods tools to strengthen our faiths. He sends adversity to help us and not to hurt us. We won't see it if we are not matured to the Lord. He may be trying to correct us. He wants to fix us. To produce Godly character in us. God protected apostle Paul from pride and taught him to be dependent to him. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10) For I am weak, then I am strong.

God is always with us. We may not feel his presence but he has promised not to leave and forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5)

Hardships and pains is one of the most precious gift God gives us.

THE GUIDEBOOK FOR ADVERSITY:
• The Word of God shows us how to walk through in times of adversity. God's words helps us to overcome.
• One of the main reason why many struggle and lose hope because of ignorance in the scriptures. We must open his word to receive guidance, comfort, and assurance.

[Title of the song: Oceans]

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This preaching is really special to me. I heard it after I said I'm giving up. You know when you're tired of everything and when everything seemed so wrong. The people around you doesn't seem to understand and you would end up looking like the bad person. I was just so lost and broken I didn't think I was fixable, until I heard this.

So seriously I cannot go on with my life if it wasn't for God. I can't survive this world if it wasn't for my comforter and Father. Let's serve and follow him why we're still in this world because he makes everything better and possible 😊

John 14: 27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. Do not let your heart be troubled and do not be afraid.