Suffering - A Constant Denominator

 

For it has been granted to you on Christ’s behalf not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him. Philippians 1:29

A majority of Christian walk is filled with challenges, crisis and struggle. It's vile to associate Christian life with prosperity, wellness & materialistic contentment. We embrace a lifestyle of crisis yet never broken or lost, unless we choose to give up on God. Paul summarizes this beautifully in 2 Corinthians 4 8-19, “We are afflicted on every way, but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed.”. Any preaching that tells Christian life does not have challenges and struggles it is undoubtedly false theology. God keeps pruning and shaping us on earth through struggles and crisis to perfect us in order to attain glorious eternity. Paul exhorted the disciples and strengthened them to continue in the faith in Acts 14:22, , “it is necessary to go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.”. The Bible also says “He comforts us in our affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”. 2 Corinthians 1:4.

The key verse emphasizes that it has been granted to us on Christ's behalf not only to believe in Him, but also suffer for Him (Philippians 1:29). It is crucial to understand God shapes a person in his crisis, not in his luxury. Luxury dulls our need for God. If indeed God has given us luxury, it is only to share with the less privileged and the needy. Let us be aware that the blessings we receive is not for us alone, but is given so that we generously share it with others. The rich young man in the Bible came to Jesus to know how he would inherit the kingdom of God. He was blessed with all the materialistic blessing and also followed all the commandments ardently from his young age, but returned sorrowful when Jesus told him, “you lack one thing: Go, sell all you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, and follow me.” Mark 10:21. The next verse says, “but he was dismayed by this demand and he went away grieving, because he had many possessions.”. The final culmination point is that God is trying to teach us to live one day at a time as stated in the Lord’s prayer, “give us each day our daily bread.” Luke 11:3.

Life of Jesus fascinates me in two passages. First, in John 7:30 it says, “No man laid his hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.”. Second, a few days later He was again teaching in the temple and the crowd was enraged by His claims, yet still, “no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come. “ John 8:20. The inference is that the suffering was stalled for Jesus until the fullness of the time or in the appointed time which was about to come. Today we comfort each other saying good times are ahead. God allows perpetual crisis to prune us and increase our God-reliance over our self-reliance. Never forget the words of Jesus, “In this world you will have tribulation”. John 16:33. We have hope in Jesus because of the victory as He encourages saying, “but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”. In our final destination with God, we come to a perfect future as stated in Revelation 21:4, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and death will be no more , nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain for the former things are passed away.”. Note, the former things, which is the present age has promised suffering and crisis in abundance. But soon we will reach our eternal destination where there is joy in abundance and joy eternal. In this earth we cannot escape problems and crisis but His promises are eternal, notably, He will never leave us nor forsake us..  

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Six Biblical Responses to Sri Lanka’s Easter Bombings!

We are all saddened by the recent disaster in Sri Lanka that shook the entire world including the Christian world. This particular article below by Ajith Fernando teaching director of Youth for Christ, Sri Lanka, and author of Discipling in a Multicultural World (Crossway 2019) made so much of sense when he penned down this article which appeared in ‘Christian Today’. This can be applied anytime when we face any disaster. I have condensed a bit due to its length, but you may check the link below to read the complete article.

Whenever tragedy hits a nation, Christians need to ask how to think Biblically in response to the situation. As Christianity is a body religion, it is best that groups of Christians meet and discuss a common response to the challenges. We cannot delay our response. There are both immediate responses and more long-term responses to heal the wounds of our people.

I have thought of at least six necessary responses from Christians to what has happened:

1) Lament Loss

Christians must join the nation in lamenting and mourning over our losses. Protestants have been somewhat lacking in espousing a theology of groaning (Rom. 8:23) that opens the door to lament (though that seems to be changing). The Old Testament has many instances of elaborate mourning customs, and that is found in the New Testament too. The church responded to Stephen’s death with a “great lamentation over him” (Acts 8:2; also see 9:39). Each country has its cultural ways of lament, and we must look for practices to adopt which harmonize with Christianity. In addition to Easter time, April is New Year in Sri Lanka and most Christians have cancelled their usual festivities because of what has happened.

2) Condemn Evil

The Bible is loaded with condemnation over the wrong that takes place in a nation, and the ministries of the prophets are a good example of this. Where possible and appropriate, we need to strongly condemn—with no reserve—the barbaric acts that have happened. Like the prophets, we may also need to denounce the failure of our national leaders to take appropriate steps to protect the people in response to intelligence reports.

3) Alleviate Suffering

Part of the Christian answer to the problem of evil is action to alleviate suffering, as people made in the image of a God who works. The Bible is loaded with advice to care for those who are wounded and vulnerable. We must look for opportunities to help. Some of these are more formal projects done in an organized manner by groups—Christian or general community efforts. Others are personal responses. As representatives of the God of all comfort, we can seek to comfort those who are hurting (2 Cor. 1:3-4)

4) Leave Vengeance to the Lord

In our hearts we must apply the principle of God’s “holy-love” as we think through the situation. The Bible is clear that our holy God punishes wrong. The reason we are to “never avenge [ourselves]” is because we “leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord’” (Rom. 12:19). When wrong is done, something in us says, “That deserves to be punished.” That is a biblical sentiment. God has given government officials the authority to be agents of his wrath by punishing wrongdoers (Rom. 13:3–4). We must let justice take its course. But even if it doesn’t take place on earth, we know that it will at the final judgment. We can choose to stop the downward spiral of revenge where violence begets violence and huge destruction results.

5) Don’t Bear False Witness

The Bible is severe in its condemnation of false accusation and harming the innocent. Racial, ethnic, and religious prejudice often comes from lumping large numbers of people alongside a few radical members of the group they belong to. I do not want to be naïve about the plans of some Muslim groups to control the world and use violence to achieve that end. But in Sri Lanka, for centuries we have lived harmoniously with Muslims. I often feel that my Muslim neighbors are better neighbors to me than I am to them. If we lump all Muslims under the category of terrorist sympathizers, we do many of them a huge injustice which is abhorrent to God. Such attitudes could isolate them to the point of pushing them to find refuge among radicals. It is no secret that violence against Muslims encourages radicalism. We must conscientiously do all we can to prevent that from happening.

6) Pray

While it may seem foolish to spend time praying during a crisis when there is so much to do, this is the most powerful thing God’s people can do in a national crisis (1 Kings 19). We need to mobilize individual and corporate prayer among Christians. Leaders must take the lead in calling for prayer. Christians in Sri Lanka often lose hope when they are faced with wave after wave of bad news. But we don’t pray with a defeatist attitude. We know that God is building his kingdom culminating in the return of Christ, and that our actions are building blocks in this process.  Holy-love will win in the end! Amen. Come, Lord Jesus (Rev. 22:20).

This article originally appeared here

Blessings.

Good Friday & Easter -The Essence

[“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). “The Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us” (Gal. 1:3–4). “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” (2 Cor. 9:15).] 

Message on Giving

Jesus Christ puts the liberality and generosity of God on continuous display. It is not just at the Cross, or even in the Resurrection, that Jesus represents the grace, the gift-giving-ness, of God to us, we still experience the same in our daily life His immense grace and mercy that sustains us and our families. If you have noticed, in every miracle, every parable—simply by being in the world at all—Jesus is proclaiming, “God is good and He loves giving." 

I like the way Andrew Wilson, author and Pastor at King’s Church, London connects the parables to the core message of giving:  “Many parables in the Gospels present God as an irrepressible giver, even when the parable has other goals. Once there was a farmer who scattered seed so liberally that most of it didn’t take root. Once there was a king who forgave a debt of 10,000 talents (millions of dollars today). Once there was a vineyard owner who gave people far more than their work was worth. Once there was a father who gave away half his estate to his rebellious son—and then gave him a feast when he came crawling back, having wasted it all. Once there was a nobleman who gave three months’ wages to all his employees, and then went on a foreign trip. Once there was a landowner who gave his vineyard over to tenants. Once there was a king who gave wedding invitations to every undesirable in the county.”

When all Christ's teachings and the demonstration is about giving, then don’t we think we share the same responsibility as well? We are supposed to reach out and demonstrate Christ's love by giving too. Taking the gospel to the un-reached is not by word alone. It is the message with love, deeds and sign. Let us consciously follow His footsteps and make a difference in our society and nation.

The purpose behind Suffering 

According to the Book of Hebrews, God is restoring his original design for creation through the death of his Son, who was "crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death" (2:9). From the bruised heel of Genesis 3:15 to the reigning lamb of Revelation 22, the Bible tells the story of a crucified Messiah who is glorified through suffering. The promise of victory includes the price of suffering. From here on, a pattern emerges: Victory comes through suffering, exaltation through humiliation, and, ultimately, the kingdom through the Cross. "Glory is the dazzling, jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring showcase of God's character to a world darkened by sin. It is the explosive radiance produced by his holiness, love, mercy, justice, wisdom, and power—all of which come together in the most fitting way in the death of Christ." Andrew Wilson. 

Blessings.

Sustaining the progress

How do we keep progressing while we are battling with challenges, which seems to be life debilitating and the struggle seems to be endless? In such situations we seem to be hopeful one day and filled with utter despair the next day. This rakes up an array of emotions. We don't see things getting any better or the trouble seems to be moving at a slower pace than expected.  Our spiritual life also takes a toll like waves bellowing up and down and you feel miserable about it.

Sometimes we have something to hold on too while we go through hard times, but most of the time we may find ourself left alone with no one around us to offer a helping hand. Each one of us cling on to the Bible promises and plead to God to help us get out of the stalemate only to realize that the long duration of trouble is slowly obliterating any hope one has on God.

Before I unfold on how to keep moving steadily let this undefendable fact sink deep in us.  "God absolutely is! Let us believe and cherish this. God is. It is a wildly untamable, explosively uncontainable, electrically future-creating reality—that God is.". John Piper In 'Astonished by God'.

God takes each one of us through different challenging experiences. There is no singled out mantra or principle to follow in order to witness the deliverance. Apostle Paul in the book of Romans 12:9-21 puts down an amazing set of Christian ethics to keep moving while we are in this journey. Especially one verse that stands out is the key to unlocking the providence of God. "Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer." Romans 12:12 CSB. It is so simple yet profound. Let us try to understand this verse.

The first thing we are expected to do is "Rejoice in hope" this is the only thing  left while we are in crisis. We will be hoping for a way out. Either be doomed in our situation or rejoice in the hope to receive good from the Lord. In Corinthians it says "So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.". 2 Corinthians 4:18 CSB. Its wise to shift our focus on the unseen, rejoice in hope, which will help spear us forward.

"Be patient in affliction". When we are hurt or if we are suffering, we are supposed to endure the affliction and learn to cope up in order to be helped better and not broken too early. We are therefore advised to be patient while we suffer yet rejoicing in the hope because the goodness of the Lord is plenty when we look unto Him for rescue. The Bible says "My grace will be sufficient for you" (2 Cor 12:9) It will  definitely sustain us so that we are not crushed to despair and death. 

Finally, "be persistent in prayer”. Paul to Philippians says "Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6 CSB. God already knows what we are going through but however we need to keep informing Him of the same. Don't lose hope my brothers and sisters. Persistence is the key. God is too generous to allow us to go through misery and breakdown. He is preparing us to operate dynamically from a new dimension. We can't afford to quit. Romans 15:13 CSB "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.".

Stay Blessed,

David Raj

Kerala Crisis- Are we any better?

The recent Kerala deluge has captured the headlines for quite some time. Times of India reports Kerala may have suffered loss of around Rs 35,000 crore. As people are struggling to resettle and find relief with the water receding, they are now facing a new challenge, the menace of serpents. Consecutive calamities are making things so difficult for the common people out there. NDTV estimates at least 310,000 people have been displaced and are taking shelter in more than 2,000 relief camps.

People around the globe are expressing the acts of kindness through cash and kind. On the other side we also find people judging and trying to mar the image of the people by making ruthless comments, one is the self-styled god man Swami Chakrapani Maharaj made a ludicrous statement linking Kerala flood relief and beef. He commented "It is sin to rescue beef eaters, those who don't kill animals should be helped" How sad and sickening to see the calamities are politicized for their benefits.

I want to draw your attention to an incident in the Bible recorded in the book of Luke, where Jesus cites an example for the understanding of the people (Luke:13:2-5) And Jesus said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.". How does this verse speak to you? You and I are no better, it is just that we are expected to humble ourselves and stop thinking and making politically correct statements. It’s a time that we come to the feet of God and ask God for more mercy and extend all possible help to the suffering people in Kerala.

We even notice some Christian senior leaders just because they exist for a long time, they have a bigger people group, greater task, take the liberty to monopolize things and pass irresponsible remarks for their personal benefits. Politics is rampant everywhere, isn’t it? Warren W Wiersbe cites beautifully, “Our growing older doesn’t guarantee that we are automatically growing up. It’s tragic when people confuse age with maturity, because age records length of life, while maturity relates to depth of experience and character, no matter how old we are.” Mark what Jesus said in the passage, “..I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.". The people of Kerala never expected this deadly catastrophe will dismantle them completely. Let us take this into cognizance, You and I are no better, therefore let us use our resources to build and restore people lives. 

                                                     

Check this man comment in social media is so real. You cannot save your Church building too, when calamities hit severely, it’s the Church, the movement I mean should not be submerged in such catastrophe. All our grandeur can be washed away, only your good work and the gospel stands tall. Unless we want to show it without any dichotomy.  Let us learn to say “thank you” for the million things we are still enjoying and bless others especially the people in Kerala, India.

Check this short video:

Reference:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/thiruvananthapuram/state-may-have-suffered-loss-of-around-rs-35000-crore/articleshow/65535867.cms

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-45300506

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/pm-modi-surveys-flood-battered-kerala-324-dead-310-000-displaced-10-facts-1902341

https://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/hindu-mahasabha-website-hacked-beef-recipe-posted-after-leader-s-controversial-comment-on-kerala-floods-351781.html

Blessings.

Catch me in my righteousness

It is inevitable we go through crisis and mess things up. The magnitude of the crisis and suffering varies from person to person. It moves you from abundance to scarcity most of the time. Everything that seemed so secure slowly disappears. You are confused and grope your way through the darkness unable to articulate. All the blessings that was at your arms reach are now fleeting. You battle in your mind to know if God even exists. You compare yourself to all the bad people enjoying the good things and so called “good” people who live their lives securely with hypocrisy and maliciousness. A sudden desperateness creeps in fearing that your righteousness has let you down. What do you do? cry out like Jeremiah, 'And You have bereaved my soul and cast it off far from peace; I have forgotten what good and happiness are.' Lamentations 3:17 AMPC. It is definitely not a bad idea to make Him know your despair. 

After battling with this myriad of emotions you muster the courage and start praying to God in darkness but you are faced with a deafening silence. Times like this you are tempted to measure your faithfulness to God with your ROI (return of investment) and get even more disappointed because you think your righteousness has not paid you with good returns and your lamenting resembles with that of Jeremiah, "Why has my pain been perpetual and my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will you indeed be to me like a deceptive stream with water that is unreliable? Jeremiah  15:18 NASB.

 You become a lunatic trying to survive in a bizarre way. The new journey finds you in a road of faltering, stumbling, mountain top experiences sometimes in extreme holiness and the next moment you find yourself in the deepest valley in a total mess. The precious learning is that the faith and the walk in Christ you had when you were living a secure life does not work here. You learn a completely different yet divine set of skills that takes you forward slowly. Then you pray and hope God blesses you before you become bad and mess up once again. In fact, you wish God notices when you live a righteous life and make things right by then. The moment we are less God conscious we mess up. 

In all my rantings above have you noticed that we have to work at being good.  We don't have to work at being bad.  Being bad comes naturally.  No one has ever taught us to do evil.  Why do they have to teach us to be good, if we are already good"?  Who is big enough to rescue our soul from our wretchedness and dichotomy, other than God. Therefore, it is absolutely fine to ask God to take notice of us and help us in our confused condition we are living in and make us strong.

God is trying to shake you up and strengthen you in His righteousness. The few messes cannot derail you. It is said "If you prefer error, truth will remain dormant.  But in the pursuit of truth, error is always a casualty, unless you want to hold both the true and false as true.". Whatever the reason is, the primary purpose is to slowly move you towards a strong learning to live and manage the situation in wantonness, despair, continual rejection, being humbled, confusion and you can go on naming all the desperate conditions you experience. Bishop T. D. Jakes in his book “God's provision for your every need” puts it this way "God brings us into the wilderness to perfect our faith. You cannot have all pleasure without pain, neither can you enjoy only good times without adversity. Your faith is perfected in the furnace of affliction and adversity.”.  It is said in Luke (22:39) "He went out and made his way as usual to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him". The following verses says Jesus went to pray when He had to face the trail and humiliation. What is your usual comfort spot when things aren't working your way. Is it the feet of the Lord or meeting a potential earthly source who can help you? Understand this "When God wants to educate a man He does not send to the school of graces but to the school of necessities". God will never let what you have lost so far be the best you have ever had. He is only in the process to make you stronger, harder, and consistent so that He can use you for a greater purpose. What you are going through is temporary. The Bible says "For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. 2 Corinthians 4:17 CSB.

Meet God when you aren't sure how long you would be able hold on to your righteousness, He will help you because He counts on you. God does not rely on cowards, hypocrites and people who use God for their survival openly or subtly. He intends taking you through this intense training for His divine purpose. You are marked, don't delay the process of complete submission because suffering and crisis are part of His divine plan. May God help you in your journey close to God.

Blessings,

David Raj
https://www.shefaservices-pune.com

Deciding to be silent and remain comfortable?

If you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will come to the Jewish people from another place, but you and your father’s family will be destroyed. Who knows, perhaps you have come to your royal position for such a time as this.” Esther 4:14 CSB 

We learn about the cruelty, planned against the Jews where the government (King) was convinced that the Jews were no good and follow entirely different law contrary to the norms and pattern of the nation. It just talks about anti-Semitism. What does it mean? It means the intense dislike for and prejudice against Jewish people.

 Anti-Semitism is not a recent phenomenon. Here in the book of Esther, set in the fifth century BC, we read of appalling anti-Semitism. Haman wanted to ‘annihilate all the Jews – young and old, women and little children – on a single day… and to plunder their goods’ (Esther 3:13). Haman estimated that he would be able to extort 375 tons of silver including all their possession and deposit in the king's treasury which convinced the king. It is extremely fearful to imagine such a decree was passed by the then government to get rid of the Jews and plunder their resources.

Isn't there an eerie resemblance to our present day's context? We see and hear in many places of our nation and in the world, radicals and powerful governments wanting to get rid of the Christians. There are subtle plots and in some cases, open ones to curb the privileges of Christians and persecute them in all possible manner; even though there are some Christians in powerful and influencing positions refusing to speak about it. How do Christians and leaders handle such context?  Should Christians just pray for justice and leave the rest to God?

That’s not what the Bible asks us to do. Instead Hebrews 11:33 tells us that we are God’s hands for dispensing justice and God uses us to “administer justice.”Prayer and action has to always go together. Is there a way Christians can come together to pray as a Church or community and do something about it? Or like most we think we are in a comfortable position and scared we may end up disturbing our comfort and security. We may even be wondering what if we are left alone fighting the battle without the support of fellow Christians or the faint doubt if God will actually make things happen, can linger in our minds. 

In the book of Esther when the decree was passed to annihilate the Jews we read Esther was informed by her uncle about the grave situation and at the same time also challenged her to get in action and not remain comfortable in the position she got into. We all know the story very well, Esther thereafter refused to remain comfortable. She decides to take a risk by planning to save her own people by influencing the king with honest report. Prayer was in the forefront but then the plan of action was not very far. Esther used a brilliant mixture of bravery, faith and skill. She had a discretion to find the right time to enter the presence of the King and get the attention from him. God at the same time was doing His part to Grant her favor in all the steps. This is exactly the Holistic gospel Esther lived. Every bit of the story is so dramatic thereafter. The Bible says in (Esther 9:1) "....just the opposite happened.." One person's willingness to stand daringly made an unimaginable difference to the whole Jewish clan. Is it not a strong emphasis on God's power and grandeur for saving the people from complete destruction?

 We read in Mathew 23:23 Jesus telling the teachers of law that they have neglected the more important matters of law, justice, mercy and faithfulness. The gospel that Jesus announced and lived was not only about rescuing and healing individuals; it was also about helping the poor and the needy and at the same time dismantling the oppressive systems of the world—spiritual, religious, political, economic, cultural, and so on, be it the individuals or Church.

Choosing to be silent and doing nothing about a situation which demands action is not a, measure to assure security for us and to our families. If God has kept us in a leadership position or in the area of influence, it is to be a blessing in our communities and in the nation in every possible manner. Do we have a plan or strategy? 

Blessings

When the faithful ceases to exist……….

       Hi Friends Just a few thoughts I would like to pen down that I trust will help us to redefine in the way we consider Gods intervention. We are in the time when the atrocities of the so called Christians specially who are in the forefront of the ministry are becoming unbearable and heartbreaking, and we are confused whether the Lord is really beholding on the Evil that is eating away the little faith of the ones who grapple to trust God. David in Psalms 12:1-4 says “Help Lord ; for the godly man ceaseth; For the faithful fail from among the children of men.” And he ends in verse 12:8  “The wicked walk on every side, When vileness is exalted among the sons of men. When generally all think themselves to be the saviour and keep proclaiming about themselves as said in Proverbs 20:6 “Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?” .Lets examine ourselves to understand what sustains us. Ps 18:35 says “ your gentleness makes me great” sadly it’s the manipulation, Ungodliness, power, money, fame, etc & etc you can think of, sustains us and reaches us on the top. Can we seriously examine to know that,  are we still in the Lord? And if necessary recommit our lives afresh to Jesus. Even the Lord is disappointed and broken to see that he is reproached hurt from us and not from the anti-socials of the world. “Psa 55:12-13  For it was not an enemy that reproached me; Then I could have borne it: Neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; Then I would have hid myself from him. But it was thou, a man mine equal, My companion, and my familiar friend.”

Now let’s carefully understand the fact of How God will intervene. Firstly we should understand that we are in the culmination of times, where necessarily God would not bring everything to standstill which if happens yes, it may or may not build our trust in God, but it is important to understand Gods sovereign way to do things.

If there is a situation unbearable or sufferings that you go through we should understand and be prepared to know the testing of our faith and the Love for him has begun. How much obedient are you. As you read Heb 5:8 “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;” therefore it is important that we continue to obey governance as said in 1 Pet 2:18 “You servants must submit yourselves to your masters and show them complete respect, not only to those who are kind and considerate, but also to those who are harsh.” GNB and ensure that you are not treated bad because of your folly 1 Pet 1:20 For what glory is it, if, when ye sin, and are buffeted for it, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye shall take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.  Therefore my friends do not loose your temper at any case James 1:20 “for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.” During the course wait patiently displaying your obedience and righteousness towards God.  We will be foolish if we think to prove a point. The lord is concern how you obey and trust in every steps. Remember we are living in a world that is called “Present imperfect” and heading towards “Future Perfect”. Eternity is our destination my friend Eccles 3:11, So keep looking ahead towards the destination that God has prepared  for us 1 Cor 2:9 “but as it is written, Things which eye saw not, and ear heard not, And which entered not into the heart of man, Whatsoever things God prepared for them that love him. Read Heb 11:37-40 It talks about the suffering and hardships of people who did not get any justification in this world. So God will honour you based on your faithfulness. Continue to cling to God in prayer and in His word. Isa 26:3 “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee; because he trusteth in thee” and read Rev 22:11 “He that is unrighteous, let him do unrighteousness still: and he that is filthy, let him be made filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him do righteousness still: and he that is holy, let him be made holy still”  and consider Malachi 3:17-18 And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.

I trust these thoughts would help you to continue to Trust God faithfully.

Blessings