Don't Stop Believing

Jesus was the Son of God, but he still suffered, and through his sufferings he learned to obey whatever God says.
(Hebrews 5:8 ERV)

God doesn’t send the suffering we endure, we either bring it on ourselves - by our fleshly desires or by another person’s hand or even the enemies doing. Does the suffering we endure mean that we deserve it, not necessarily. Does the suffering mean that we have done something wrong, not necessarily. Does the suffering mean that God is angry with us and is punishing us, NEVER!

While Jesus lived on earth he prayed to God, asking for help from the one who could save him from death. He prayed to God with loud cries and tears. And his prayers were answered because of his great respect for God. 
(Hebrews 5:7 ERV)

I can’t imagine any Christians arguing that Jesus deserved the punishment and cross that he bore, Jesus is the only one who has ever been without sin - yet he suffered - so how could the argument that God punishes his children be effective here?  God didn’t put Jesus on the cross - man did, Jesus did everything God wanted him to and he was still punished. 

Don’t be tricked by the lies of the enemy into believing that if someone is going through some trial or storm - God must be teaching them a lesson and punishing them for their wrongdoings.  That’s not how God works, that’s how the enemy wants people to see God - as some cruel God who is always looking down on us disapprovingly.  And when people get caught up in that belief, they miss who God really is -  a loving, faithful Father with endless blessings of grace and mercy.

Jesus bore the cross, because he knew it was the only way to save us. We were incapable of fulfilling the law, the only way to make us right with God was with the one final perfect sacrifice. That’s the beauty of God’s grace - receiving the gift of righteousness when we haven’t done anything to deserve it. Yes, we deserved punishment, eternal death, but God is a loving God and didn’t want that for us - so He gave us His Son as mercy - instead of eternal death, the punishment we deserve, He has given us eternal life as His adopted children.

So when you’re going through the storms of life and instead of trying to justify whether you did something to deserve this, turn to God in prayer, pray for God's mercy and grace, and then ask God to show you how you can serve God through this trial.

We are confident that God is able to orchestrate everything to work toward something good and beautiful when we love Him and accept His invitation to live according to His plan. (Romans 8:28 VOICE)


Don’t be fooled into thinking that your faith is lacking if your prayers aren’t answered either. God answers our prayers - not in our time, but in His time.  Remember, God answered Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane; in His perfect timing - three days after his crucifixion, Jesus was resurrected.