Pain is good?

Living as a Christian doesn’t mean your life is perfect it doesn’t mean living free from struggles; instead living a Christian life means you will rely on the Holy Spirit who will help you face these difficulties head-on day after day.

Struggles shape our hearts and our faith humbly submitting to God is the first step in overcoming struggles. Humility pulls us away from self reliance and closer to God. It is not an easy life, but it is a rich life, filled with the presence of God. He teaches us, comforts us, and walks with us as we grow, He reminds us of who we are and who He is in the face of pain and struggle, our faith in Him will give us comfort, guidance, and hope.

When you read the Bible, life often gets worse before it gets better. Salvation, the free gift of God, is sometimes painful.It costs us nothing and Jesus everything.

Pain teaches us: because to understand this pain change and struggle are part of the growing process.

This doesn't mean all pain is good, or necessary it means God knows what it takes to get through to our stubborn hearts, and that He alone is good and does all things for our good and His glory, He loves us enough to work in us and make us like Jesus.

C.S. Lewis said God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world”

Is God shouting at you today?

God wants us to see that He is our only hope. If we can control something on our own, we will never come to know the greater power of God. No matter what Is going on God is still in control He acts according to His eternal plan and perfect will.

 Isaiah 30:18 tells us the Lord is a God of justice for those who wait on Him. He will not abandon us in our times of helplessness. We have to trust in Him that He alone is able to change whatever situation we are in, into a time of hope, joy and peace.

Through it all, God will act and show us that He cares for is personally and deeply. Don't surrender to pain, trials or temptations, instead surrender to God our creator and see His power shine in you , on you and through you as you make it with Him through this life.

Mark 10:27: With man [it] is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.

We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us. — Romans 5:3-5

Now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire — may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. — 1 Peter 1:6-9

Is it right to be angry?

Is it ever right to be angry?

I’m not very good with anger. I hate it when people get angry with me. And when I say something in the heat of the moment out of anger I spend hours afterwards regretting it.

What does God’s anger mean to us? Do we really expect him to get angry with us, punish us?

God does get angry, and rightfully so, He sees beginning and end at the same time, and sees the heart of wickedness in mankind, and He deals justly with it, God never reacts He acts against it, and says leave vengeance to Him.

There are many things in our world today which can rightly make us angry. We have to do what we can to put things right, and then leave the rest to God. We need to help people to realise, that only true repentance can turn away God's anger.

We need to pray we will understand our own anger  and know when to use it and when to apologise to God.

Humanity is brought low, man is humbled, and haughty eyes are humbled. But the Lord of Hosts is exalted by His justice, and the holy God is distinguished by righteousness. Lambs will graze as if in their own pastures, and strangers will eat among the ruins of the rich. Woe to those who drag wickedness with cords of deceit and pull sin along with cart ropes, to those who say: “Let Him hurry up and do His work quickly so that we can see it! Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel take place so that we can know it! ” Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own opinion and clever in their own sight.  Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes straw and as dry grass shrivels in the flame, so their roots will become like something rotten and their blossoms will blow away like dust, for they have rejected the instruction of the Lord of Hosts, and they have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. Therefore the Lord ’s anger burns against His people. He raised His hand against them and struck them; the mountains quaked, and their corpses were like garbage in the streets. In all this, His anger is not removed, and His hand is still raised to strike. He raises a signal flag for the distant nations and whistles for them from the ends of the earth. Look — how quickly and swiftly they come! None of them grows weary or stumbles; no one slumbers or sleeps. No belt is loose and no sandal strap broken. Their arrows are sharpened, and all their bows strung. Their horses’ hooves are like flint; their chariot wheels are like a whirlwind. Their roaring is like a lion’s; they roar like young lions; they growl and seize their prey and carry it off, and no one can rescue it. On that day they will roar over it, like the roaring of the sea. When one looks at the land, there will be darkness and distress; light will be obscured by clouds.
Isaiah 5:15-21, 24-30