{"id":177624,"date":"2023-10-18T04:18:54","date_gmt":"2023-10-18T09:18:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/?p=177624"},"modified":"2023-10-10T06:42:52","modified_gmt":"2023-10-10T11:42:52","slug":"48-n-wilderness-12-t-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/2023\/10\/18\/48-n-wilderness-12-t-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Graham Devotion"},"content":{"rendered":"
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John 16:33\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/sup>These things I have spoken to you, that<\/span>\u00a0in Me you may have peace.<\/span>\u00a0In the world you<\/span>\u00a0will have tribulation; but be of good cheer,<\/span>\u00a0I have overcome the world.\u201d<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It seems like every new day brings fresh reports of massive natural or man-made tragedies: Tornadoes, fires, floods, riots, shootings, and more. Closer to home, it\u2019s very likely that you have encountered a divorce, a lost job, debilitating or life-threatening health problems, or some other heartbreaking trial.<\/p>\n

It is completely natural to ask why God would allow something like this to happen, why there is so much pain in this world, and why you have been affected while others seem to have it easy.<\/p>\n

To be honest, I don\u2019t have the answers. There are a few things that I do know, because they are promised to us in the Bible.<\/p>\n

God is in control.<\/strong>\u00a0While we all want the mountaintop experiences\u2014the wonderful times when everything is going well\u2014those moments are few and fleeting. There is no golden ticket to an easy life.<\/p>\n

In fact, Jesus told us in John 16:33 that the opposite is true:\u00a0\u201cThese things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Yes, there will be hard times\u2014it\u2019s guaranteed\u2014but there\u2019s also a promise: Christ has overcome the world and He is in control.<\/p>\n

God promises that good will result from your suffering.<\/strong>\u00a0My grandfather, Billy Graham, once said, \u201cMountaintops are for views and inspiration, but fruit is grown in the valleys.\u201d Both the mountaintops and the valleys of life make us cry out to Jesus. The mountaintops cause us to praise God, while the valleys cause us cling to God.<\/p>\n

If you put your faith in Jesus, He will take your suffering and use it to a positive end. Romans 8:28 states,\u00a0\u201cAnd we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

You may be traveling a valley that is incredibly difficult and painful. However, I pray that you will take solace in knowing that God has a plan. You may not get to see the fruit this side of Heaven, but even now He is working through you. Your life matters!<\/p>\n

God will walk beside you.<\/strong>\u00a0In John 11, we read the story of Jesus\u2019 friend Lazarus, who became ill and died. When Jesus arrived four days later, everybody\u2014especially Lazarus\u2019 sisters Mary and Martha\u2014were mourning, and Jesus mourned as well. John 11:33 says,\u00a0\u201cWhen Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and <\/em>greatly troubled\u201d<\/em>\u00a0(ESV). Jesus wept alongside Mary and Martha as He walked with them through their valley of sorrow, even though He knew what He was about to do. The tears turned to joy when Jesus miraculously raised Lazarus to life.<\/p>\n

Similarly, God is not abandoning you in the midst of your darkest hour. You might not see a miracle on the level of Lazarus, but God understands your pain, is with you, and desires to comfort you in your suffering.<\/p>\n

God promises eternity for His children.<\/strong>\u00a0Further, God promises a glorious existence in Heaven, which waits on the other side of the painful realities of this world. Those who put their faith and hope in Jesus will experience what is described in Revelations 21:4:\u00a0\u201cAnd God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0What an amazing promise!<\/p>\n

My friends, short of the Lord\u2019s return, each of us will die at some point. In the scope of eternity, the important thing isn\u2019t\u00a0when<\/em>\u00a0you stand before God, but\u00a0where<\/em>\u00a0you stand with God. If you\u2019ve placed your faith in Jesus, cling to Him. If you haven\u2019t, please don\u2019t put it off any longer. He\u2019s the hope you\u2019re searching for, and the only true and lasting remedy in this broken world.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t wait.\u00a0Trust in Jesus right now.<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

John 16:33\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0These things I have spoken to you, that\u00a0in Me you may have peace.\u00a0In the world you\u00a0will have tribulation; but be of good cheer,\u00a0I have overcome the world.\u201d It seems like every new day brings fresh reports of massive natural or man-made tragedies: Tornadoes, fires, floods, riots, shootings, and more. Closer to home, it\u2019s … Continue reading “Will Graham Devotion”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-177624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-prayers"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=177624"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177624\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":177627,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177624\/revisions\/177627"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=177624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=177624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=177624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}