Tag Archives: Pain

It Will Get Better

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it_gets_better_by_incessant_star-d30th5dThe worst thing about trouble and pain and suffering is that we sometime think that they will never end.  They will never get better.  It will never stop.  It will always be like this.  It will never change.

This is just the way that it’s going to be ever.  It will never change.

That’s what we can think when we are in the midst of a tough or tragic situation.  We can think, we can believe that this just the way that it’s going to be.  This is the new normal.  The tears will not end, the pain will not stop.

This is just the way that it is.

Ever felt that way?  I know that I have.  I know that’s what pain makes us think sometimes.  But, that’s just not true.  It will get better.  Listen to what Jesus says in John 16: 20-22:

Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.

It will get better.  Your sorry will end.  Your pain will end.  Your tears will turn to laughter.

It will get better.  Don’t forget that.  Don’t give up hope. Don’t quit.  This moment is not the end.  It will get better.

Jesus loves you, He is here for you and He has not left you.  It will get better.  It will.

Don’t give up.  No matter what.  Don’t give up.

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

It’s Worth It

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Sometimes, being a Christian is very hard. Jesus never promised us a rose garden. He promised in fact, just the opposite. He said that there would be tough times. He said that there would be trails. He said that we would face tests and worries and strife.

He never said that it would be easy.

He never promised us that.

We see today, though, what he does promise us.  Listen to Luke 18:28-30:

And Peter said, “See, we have left our homes and followed you.” And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”

The disciples say – we’ve left everything to follow you. It’s cost us everything. Sometimes, following Jesus may cost us something. It could cost us friends. It could cost us status. We could be mocked. We could be laughed at. We could become the butt of jokes.

Yeah, it could happen. And, to speak the truth, it probably will happen. After I became a Christian, I lost some friends. It’s tough.

Then, why? Why do it? Why should we endure this?

Because it’s worth it. Listen to what He says. To those that have given up such things, there is a reward in heaven.

God sees what you are going through. He sees your challenges. He sees your hurts. He sees your tears.

He honors it. And trust me. It is worth it. There is a something better coming. There is a home better than this home. There is a land where there are no more tears, hurt, and pain. There is a better place, our true home. Our home where we actually made for.

I though of this quote by CS Lewis today – “If you read history you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world were precisely those who thought the most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.”

The pain of this life does not compare with the joy of the next. There is something better coming.

It’s worth it. Be faithful. In the face of scorn, mockery, and hatred, love. Care. Forgive. It’s hard, yet.

But it’s worth it.

Something better is coming.

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

His Grace is Enough

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None of us like to be weak. None of like to think about or be reminded about the things that we don’t do well. None of us enjoy these things.

But, we all have them. We all have areas of weakness. We have things that are painful.

And I’m not talking about temptation. I’m not talking things that we are not great at. I’m talking about things that hurt. That tender spot in your life that when you, or someone else, touches it, it really hurts.

I’m talking about those flaws, those pains, that when they flare up, it hurts. I talking about the things in our lives that make us doubt ourselves, doubt God, doubt everything.

I’m talking about the spot in your life that have flung your hands up to the heavens and yelled – please God, please take this.  That is what Paul is talking about today in 2 Corinthians 12:8-10. Listen to what he say when talking about his thorn in the flesh:

Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Paul asks three times for God to take this thorn. To take this from him. To give him relief and peace.  And God doesn’t take it.

Because sometimes, we need that moment and spot of weakness to know how strong God is. We need to sometimes be reminded of how weak we are, to know how strong He is.

When we see what we can’t do, we are reminded about what He can do. When we see that efforts are enough, we see that His are more than enough.

In our weakness, His grace is made perfect.

His grace is enough. For you. Today. No matter what you are going though. No matter what your weakness. No matter what your pain. No matter what is happening. His grace is enough. For you. Today.

Rest in His grace. Rest in His mercy. Rest in His life. Rest in His hope. Rest in His strength. It is enough for you.

Even in your weakness, in your hurts, in your frailties. God is enough for you. Know that. Live that. Believe that.