Today's Scripture
Isaiah 48:10, NKJV
Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
Today's Word
There are some things you can only learn in the trial of affliction, the testing of your faith. You can't learn them by reading a book or listening to a message. You have to experience them. That place of testing is where your spiritual muscles are developed. You can't get stronger without exercising those muscles during times of intense pressure. That's not easy. But if we stay with it, it will work for us, not against us. We will get stronger.
Your gifts may take you to a certain level, but if you don't have the character to match them, you won't stay there. Character is developed in the tough times, when you're not getting your way but you keep doing the right thing. You can't be promoted without preparation. God won't give you a hundred-pound blessing when He knows you can lift only fifty pounds. If He gave you the hundred pounds, it wouldn't be a blessing; it would be a burden. He has to get you prepared for new levels.
Your gifts may take you to a certain level, but if you don't have the character to match them, you won't stay there. Character is developed in the tough times, when you're not getting your way but you keep doing the right thing. You can't be promoted without preparation. God won't give you a hundred-pound blessing when He knows you can lift only fifty pounds. If He gave you the hundred pounds, it wouldn't be a blessing; it would be a burden. He has to get you prepared for new levels.
Prayer for Today
Father, thank You that You are refining my life with fire and using the pressure of challenges to make me stronger and grow me up. Thank You that every test of my faith is preparing me to overcome and persevere, to go higher and increase me. I believe that I am coming out better. In Jesus' Name, Amen