“5- And
ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My
son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art
rebuked of him: 6- For whom
the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7- If ye endure chastening, God
dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth
not? 8- But if ye be
without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not
sons.” (Hebrews 12:5- 8 King James Version)
I
have the toughest years in my life as a minister, and I believe you have your
tough years, difficult months or bad days too. Some people lost some financial
support or help, while others may have lost their dearest love ones in the
family. Many are struggling being months behind in their mortgage or other
bills. The comfort of telling them about the love of God seems to be from a
distance, and out of reality. If you are in a situation like this; you can
easily felt like you’re losing your self-worth, self confidence or determination,
and your motivation. Remember that such situations are common not only in the 3rd
world countries, in some develop nations, and even in countries like the USA
and United Kingdom.
On my part, by the grace of God, I never
asked for money from love ones or friends for my personal needs. I just pray
and trust the Lord. As a minister, I know and I believe that I always represent
my Lord. It is my personal conviction and preference; it’s not engraved in
stones. But it is always the will of God for us to pray, and to trust Him for
every need. Apostle Paul went through the same afflictions, needs, struggle, and
even worst sufferings as Christ’s disciple. (Philippians 4:11- 19) Apostle Paul
struggled in many areas of his life, especially when he was in prison. Notice
his only material desire while in prison; “The
cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and
the books, but especially the parchments.” (II Timothy 4:13 KJV)
