For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest,
There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest. There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master. (Job 3:13, 17-19)
Those of us who are born again by faith in Him and His finished and perfect work on the Cross of Calvary and trusting in His great Salvation through repentance of our sin, ought not to allow our circumstances to control us, nor should we respond to them, even in trials and tribulations, we ought to be worshipful, grateful, and at rest in Him who is our peace in the midst of the storm. We may not be happy with what is happening around us, or the evil calamities we may suffer in this broken and dying world, but we can be joyful in the Spirit and wait patiently on the Lord. Though all around us may be chaotic and uncontrollable, He is our strength. Though we may not see the goodness in those things which come our way, He is our Lord and is in control, working all things for His glory and for His purpose of conforming us to His image and growing us into the full measure of Him.
For GOD calls His Church to serve, as His ambassadors, not sitting around the meeting house congratulating ourselves on how spiritual we are because we bothered to show up on Sunday, but ministering to those around us who are hurting and in need, with the things of this life, and with the Word of GOD, rightly divided and fitly spoken. GOD commands His children to love one another in fellowship, forgiving and forbearing one another, and as members in particular, even as He loved us, and to disciple one another in the Word of GOD that we may grow thereby. GOD has commissioned and sent His people forth in the power of the Holy Spirit and with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that as we go into this lost and dying world, we may proclaim His Good News of forgiveness of sin through repentance and reconciliation with the Father through faith in His Son that in believing that Jesus is the Christ they might have life in His Name.
For GOD is not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance and the knowledge of the Truth. Jesus loves you and wants to establish a covenant relationship with you that is real and personal. Surrender to Him on His terms and He will give you a brand new life of discipleship and fellowship with Him that is abundant and everlasting. GOD calls you to trust Him and what He has already done for you to pay your sIn debt. He has provided the only way of reconciliation with GOD, forgiveness from GOD, and Salvation through Jesus Christ, the Son of GOD who is GOD the Son, to give you a new life in Christ. Turn away from yourself and your sIn and turn to Him alone for eternal Life, now and always.
In Christ,
Jefferson Sweet