Faith-bearing Seed for the Soul
"While the earth remaineth,
Seedtime and harvest
....shall not cease"

Genesis 8:22

Abounding and Abasing

Never, never forget that God is love...and that His plans for

us are to prosper us and give us hope and a future and to

not harm us. (Jeremiah 29:11) Because He is love, He has

paid for our sins by hanging "The Love of His Life" Jesus Christ

on the cross to pay for our sins. However, being the loving

Father that He is, He allows us to learn obedience and maturity,

through discipline and suffering, just like we earthly parents do

for our children. He will never leave us and is always there for

us, continually teaching us, because we are His own.

Psalms 56:8,9

You have seen me tossing and turning through the night.

You have collected all my tears and preserved them in your

bottle. You have recorded every one in Your book. The very

day I call for help, the tide of battle turns. My enemies flee!

This one thing I know: God is for Me!

Some say that we are NEVER to suffer in any way at all.

They claim that since Jesus suffered for us, that we should

never be required to suffer. If we were to pull all of the pages

regarding the suffering of Christians from the Bible, it would

result in our having very narrow Bibles. In the New Testament,

beginning with the first disciples and apostles, we see them

surrounded by both blessings and suffering. To teach that we

will never suffer is as much heresy as it would be to teach that

we will never prosper and must always suffer to be close to Him.

Paul, a man of great suffering, as recorded in II Corinthians

11:23-33, tells of his beatings, the physical infirmity he was

not healed of, hunger, being cold with not enough clothing,

shipwrecked and much more. However, Paul LEARNED to take

PLEASURE in infirmities, and in learning to trust in God's grace

to overcome suffering, he was made strong. It is like the weak

butterfly that gains strength to fly by the struggle it goes

through to get out of its cocoon. And, as any strong athlete

will attest to, it's the pain and suffering that builds the muscles

that bring them through to victory.

II Corinthians 12:9-10

...For my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly

therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power

of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in

infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions,

in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am

I strong.

Hebrews 5:8 says, though Jesus was His Son, yet He learned

obedience by the things He suffered. How foolish we would be

to think that we can learn obedience any other way than to

follow the Lord's example.

Paul tells us that he LEARNED to be content in WHATEVER

state he found himself in. This is awesome because when

we learn to be as strong in adversity as we are in times of

excessive prosperity, the enemy cannot cause us to be

defeated by taking things from us, or by giving us too much

to where we will depart from the Lord and start worshipping

our own abilities or idols.

Philippians 4:11-12 (Emphasis mine)

Not that I speak in respect of want; for I have LEARNED, in

whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know

both how to be abased, and I know how to abound; every

where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to

be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

To abound means to have excess, to excel, while to be abased

means to be brought low, humbled, humiliated. Abasement

brings about the willingness to rely upon Him continually for

survival. The Lord gives us sufficient grace so that we cannot

be hindered from good works, by either excess or want.

II Corinthians 9:8 (Emphasis mine)

God is able to make ALL GRACE ABOUND TOWARD YOU; that

you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to

every good work.

When we walk in His sufficient grace, nothing can stop our good

works. So many times we think that if we never had a need, if

we were never asked to suffer in any way, that we would be so

happy. But one time the Lord allowed me to dwell a few minutes

with the feeling of not having a single need...and you know what?

Not to need God was a very lonely place. I believe He was showing

me that His grace and the miracles that we must seek daily when

lack, physical or emotional needs in this sinful world arise, keep

us close to Himself, like Adam and Eve were before sin entered

the world. His grace allows us to see Him take what the enemy

meant for bad, and work it out for our good. (Romans 8:28)

As long as we are in the world, there will be tribulation.

John 16:33

...In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I

have overcome the world.

When, like Paul, we are able to be content in any situation, then

we can be taught the opposite side of the coin, how to abound...

to turn to Him continually, even though we have excess or more

than we need. And vica versa, when we have learned to abound,

then we can go on to learn to be abased, if that has not yet been

perfected in our lives. Paul said that he had learned to be content

when either of these circumstances, having excess or in want,

surrounded him, and in this state of being, nothing could stop Paul's

good works. The devil loses his leverage when nothing upsets us.

To rest in Him, not striving, not worrying, and praising Him for

His provision and promises, such as the one below. Being content

with all that we have through Christ, is to live like Paul and the

other Apostles lived...God wants no less for us. He wants us as

close to Himself as we can get and He'll use WHATEVER IT TAKES.

Luke 12:30,31 LB

All mankind scratches for its daily bread, but your heavenly

Father knows your needs. He will always give you all you need

from day to day if you will make the Kingdom of God your

primary concern.

Lord, teach us to love you just as much with too little as with too

much. Don't allow too much or too little to hinder our work for

You. Teach us to be content, knowing that if we fall into one

these categories, that it is an opportunity to be strengthened

and see Your love in action. Let us always remember that You

are able to keep us from slipping or falling, for You know exactly

how much we are able to bear. We thank You for perfecting

unto Yourself a peculiar people, zealous of good works, as You

promised to do in the book of Titus. We thank You that

circumstances do not have to dictate our love and service to

You. We look to You alone to accomplish these things in us,

in Jesus' name. Amen

Rooted and grounded in the love of Christ Jesus,

Marlene JuHaros,

Texas Seed Sower

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which will grow--perhaps it all will."

Eccl. 11:6

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