We Are Here For Him

One thing I have learned during the difficult seasons of my life is that we are on this earth to glorify and serve God, not the other way around. Strangely, that makes the hard times easier. It keeps things in the right perspective. Our Father never enjoys our suffering, but when pain does come,  it is not useless or wasted. We can be fully persuaded that He is working together a greater weight of glory, whether it is in us or in someone else. Every circumstance is used to grow and develop us and His kingdom on this earth.

Suffering is horrible, painful and debilitating, but it helps to hold on to Romans 8: 28 & 29: 

 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

Unless I am mistaken - that includes every born again child of God. Great sufferings are not something we even want to mention but they do happen. People die, children leave home, economies fail, pain enters our lives. As I get older I realize pain happens to all of us more often than we like. The only way to get a grip during these times is to look from His viewpoint and remember - always remember - He is not only our loving Heavenly Father, but He is the God of all the universe. That knowledge is wonderful when things are going beautifully in our eyes; when the sun is shining and all is well with the world. It not so comforting when hard times hit and the bottom falls out of our lives. At those times we would prefer to blame someone else for our pain. Of course the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy, but when I am in the midst of such pain I really do not care who caused it; I just want it to stop!

We are however, His servants - He is not ours. We knew that when we signed on, but His faithfulness and love, his compassion and provision, sometimes causes us to forget that we are here for Him. To do His will. To further the purposes of His kingdom on this earth. To become more like Him. To serve Him and others.

 If we can get that deep in our spirits and accept that we are part of a much greater work than just our own lives, it will help us to accept the storms of life. We are not alone in this walk; we are encompassed by a great cloud of witnesses in the spirituals and a great army of saints on this earth.

Our vision is limited to the present and a dim view of the past. We cannot see the future and only when the Lord opens our spiritual eyes can we get even a suggestion of what the future holds. We cannot see into the spirit world except by His decree.

According to the scripture, we are called to:

Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Romans 12:15.

Its no secret there will be times of weeping as well as times of rejoicing. If we are being made into His image and he instructs us to share the feelings of each other, then I am certain He does the same with us. Our pain does not please Him, but neither is it wasted.

His priorities are different from ours. He sees beyond our flesh and works in our spirits and in the spirits of those around us.

God, give us strength and courage to remember who is the boss.