Well, I was reading my daily devotion for today here at Starbucks when suddenly this happened. Some man I can only assume is a Starbucks worker walks up to me and says, "Hi Sam." Then, good thing he introduced himself. He is a new Starbucks worker. I said, " Oh, Hi!" Then, of course, I gave him a card. I still have two more. I feel like the Lord wants me to pass out today. So, let's see where that goes as I do my writing. Alan, I pray you will enjoy my writings and be blessed by them! Start the day with encouragement!
All I need to say next is thank you Lord God for providing me venti cups of hot water for my cold hands. Thank God Jacob, one of the workers here, was by me and I asked him if I can have some hot water. Then he came back with my water and I asked him if there were any other new people and he said this one girl was new and I said tell her to come by and say hi! So, let's see if that happens. I'm on a mission to pass these last two cards out of my pouch for the day. LOL Let me get to this writing. Let's see what people the Lord will bring my way today. :-)
Ready? Set? Go!
Today, I want to go back to Joseph again and point out how this poor man endured a great deal because his brothers were so mean! Suffering for the good? I don't even see how that makes sense sometimes. However, the smart answer to say is that it does make sense!
Why do you suffer? Why do I suffer Why does anyone suffer? Friends, that's a good question and that's a question I cannot truly answer. All I can do is put out some deep thoughts. But as far as answering the question, oh, you got to wait to ask God that one
I just asked my Google Assistant to define suffering for me. She said suffering is " the state of undergoing distress, pain, or hardship." I am in total agreement with this Google Assistant. Yep, that pretty much sums it up!
I suffered. I still am suffering! I plead the fifth and choose to remain silent. Why? Because this is a Blog that is for encouraging people. This is certainly not some avenue I should use to make people feel down. And, that goes to, especially, myself.
So, let's talk about Jacob, Joseph's father in his younger years. A great deal of suffering is the result of us living in a fallen world. Remember the story I shared yesterday of Adam and Eve disobeying God?
Jacob suffered because he had to work seven years for the love of his life, Rachel. And when the seven years were up, then Rachel's father said that Jacob had to marry Leia first, the older sister, because the older sister has to go first. So the father made him work for another seven years and then he finally got to have Rachel as his wife.
So actually he was so in love with Rachel he totally did what we all should do when we are suffering and that is to think of good thoughts and think of the end result.
TBC...................
Romans 5:3-5 ESV
More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
1 Peter 5:10 ESV
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
Romans 8:18 ESV
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
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