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Romans 8:35-39 "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Great is our Lord who can deliver us from the depths of despair, persecution, and hardship. Today is a wonderful day to rejoice, and although at times, we find it difficult to see past our own troubles - God can and he wants us to allow him to take the reigns. I want to first give God the glory for another day to live and for the very breath he has breathed into me - that alone is worthy of praise. Today, I want to share with you a devotion on coping and conquering. And before I go any further, I want to share with you a little story. This story is about a young couple, who for years struggled to find their place in a very harsh and sometimes cruel world. You see, seven years ago, this couple was doing pretty well for themselves. They had two small children and a new addition they had just welcomed into their lives. They had a small townhome snuggled in a little town in Northglenn, Colorado. Mom was a stay at home mother, dad worked very hard for a telecommunications company and they appeared to have the perfect little family. Things were really falling into place for them. They even taught a Sunday School class in their local church - which grew to be a mega-church with multiple services. While attending the church, the couple grew and matured in their walk with the Lord. No-one could of ever dreamed of how quickly things would change for this young family. And no-one could of ever imagined the sacrifices they would endure down the road. The day came when the family decided to finally visit a family member living in Washington State. While on their visit, the couple visited Oregon and for the first time really began to feel God speaking to their hearts like nothing they had ever felt before. The wonderful part of that moment was that neither knew that God was speaking the other about the same thing. (Now, when I am talking about 'speaking' to them - what I hope that you can see is that God can speak to all of us in so many different ways. For one person it may be thru prayer, for another it could be thru a complete stranger who felt God wanted them to tell them something, for others it could be thru scripture ... and so on. But no matter how God speaks to us, it's our responsibility to be still, listen, and obey). Well, as the couple began heading home from their week long visit, both spoke intimately about what God had placed on their hearts. They both agreed that although they weren't for sure God's desire for their lives, they knew he was beginning something new in them and so began their fervid prayer for what God's will would be for them in their lives. After arriving home the couple spent months in prayer, and sought prayer from the church. By the time the holidays were over, things began to get rocky for them as the husband quickly learned that his company was downsizing. In the end, he lost his job and the family had to load what they could into their van, and went to live with the wife's family until they could get back on their feet. Although, things were just beginning to get tough for the couple, they immediately plugged into a new church and began working where they had felt God was leading them to. The husband started studying to become a youth pastor and as the years went by more and more hardships seemed to consume the family. It seemed that no matter what they did, they just couldn't get out of their current situation. As years passed, the couple sank deeper and deeper into despair - feeling as though, they lost everything and still just couldn't get to where they felt God really wanted them to be. Often times they compared their hardship as their own desert where they just seemed to never find their way out. And many times they would find themselves questioning why they even continued, when it just seemed to never make a difference anyway. During this time, the couple walked through many stages - sometimes, working daily jobs along side homeless people, giving plasma just to provide Christmas for their children, and living in conditions that really left them feeling worthless and alone. Some of you may be asking why am I telling you all of this? Well, to get to my point, although at times they felt God had abandoned them, deep inside they knew that wasn't true and they were right. God doesn't abandon us. Sometimes, it's the other way around - we abandon him. I know sometimes it is hard to see past your own struggles, especially when it feels as though the whole world is on your shoulders, but you never have to go through anything alone. Even in the silence, God is there. Often times we find ourselves just merely coping with the things that life throws our way. The truth is, God doesn't desire us to just cope, he wants us to overcome all these things and it is only by his power that we can do it. Many times, we get so caught up in our troubles that we can't see past ourselves. I want to encourage you today to look past that and reach for a greater place - the finish line or light at the end of the tunnel. God doesn't give up on us and he desires for us not to give up too. We all struggle with sin and the devil in our lives, however, that doesn't have to be all there is. We know that it isn't. "God does not usually deliver you out of adversity; he gives you the strength to overcome in (or through) the adversity." [Women of Faith Study Bible, week 51 page 2063] Phillippians 4:19 "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-9 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you." [Source: Women of Faith Study Bible] Written by: Melissa Schenk
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