4.- THE LOVE OF GOD “POURED OUT!
One reason we are not disappointed, or ashamed in “Hope” that God supplies us with s because of the assurance that God has poured out the love of God into our hearts to assure us! “and hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”-{Romans 5:5}.
SUFFERING DOES NOT NULLIFY GOD’S LOVE FOR YOU!
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Suffering {thlipsis}- the word speaks of great pressures and used of a narrow place that “hems someone in…No place to escape.” It is used especially for INTERNAL PRESSURES that cause someone to be confined, restricted, and without options. We might say “In between a rock and a hard place!” It also is translated as “tribulations.”
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You are NEVER ALONE in Your Suffering.
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Your Suffering Is Never In Vain as you trust Him!
GOD’S LOVE DOES NOT EXCLUDE THE CHILD OF GOD FROM SUFFERING,- NOR CAN BE SUFFERING EXCLUDE GOD FROM HIS CHILD AND DEVELOPING THEIR FAITH AND CHARACTER THROUGH SUFFERING!
The reason “hope does not disappoint us?” He used the word “BECAUSE” to give us the reason The love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the gift of the Holy Spirit to us, assuring us in our suffering, and tribulations that God loves us!
“POURED OUT,” IMPLIES AN ABUNDANT CONTINUAL SUPPLY OF HIS LOVE, AND THIS BY THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRITSPIRIT.
These sufferings are not a sign of His displeasure as we often think when something hard or difficult comes into our lives and we need to renew, change our thinking to align up with His Word.-{Read Romans 12:2}. In verses 6-10 He explains this love of God for us! This is so so important because we each can go through suffering, and tribulations and come out the other end, bitter, resentful, angry with God and believing God was “punishing us” and if He really was “good,” “He would not have allowed me to go through this,” and end up settling down in hostility towards God and others. Bitter! And this is because we had a wrong concept of God, we need to see our sufferings, tribulations, those things that cause distress from His perspective as revealed in His Word. This is why we must be like the Bereans who searched the Scripture when they listened to Paul, to see if what He was saying was true. We must become people of the Word so we can know what the God of the Word thinks and would have us “to be Fully Aware “of!
How sweet of the LORD knowing us that when pain, and suffering comes into our lives we may think, and we do have an accuser who will bring such vile and destructive and untruthful thoughts to our mind seeking to get an entrance to influence us by embracing accusatory thoughts, by tempting us to embrace them such as “God does not love you!… He is punishing You!” And if we embrace the lie we end up despondent, double-minded, fearful, and a wrong concept of God as a loving Heavenly Father, whose discipline {training} is done not in love who is for us, but lives to punish you and “get you,” just waiting for you to sin or make a mistake. That is a perversion of your Heavenly Father as one of His. He knows the suffering one, needs to be assured that God loves them! And what is His appeal to His assurance of love for us? The Cross of Christ!
“For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.“-{Romans 5;6-10}.
If God could love us when we were enemies, sinners, helpless, unGodly “MUCH MORE THEN…”
Here is the point. Seeing your suffering, and tribulations, as God’s Love, for you, not His anger, or wrath!His love for you in developing you, making you spiritually stronger! God is working Good for us and in us! He uses difficulties, and sufferings for us and not against us
His love manifested in Justifying You
His Love manifested in imparting Peace
His Love manifested in Granting You Access To God
His Love manifested in your new Standing In Grace
His Love manifested in a Future Joy
His Love Manifested in Knowing His Purpose In Suffering
His Love manifested In the Gift Of The Holy Spirit
His Love manifested in The Cross -{Romans 5:1-10}
The Love of God, the Foundation and Focus in times of Suffering and “Knowing,…”To be Fully Aware…” of what God is doing in times of suffering, tribulations, and pressures…He is “producing” something Good in us, developing us spiritually, and displaying Christlike character.
It is often in the furnace of the affliction we are refined and indeed eventually shine as the process of sanctification takes place in our lives as the LORD using His Word, by His Spirit strengthens us, changes us, and assures us. conforms us to the image of Christ! We “KNOW” that God is not absent, indifferent, but present and active “producing” good even from our tribulations, and sufferings, “perseverance….proven character… hope” and we can be assured “Because the Love of God has been poured out into our hearts” through the Holy Spirit who has been gifted to us. It is not self-generated but Spirit generated our ability to rejoice in our sufferings because we know HE IS PRESENT and in CONTROL and HE IS Involved in Meeting us with Himself, His Word, and Spirit!
God Bless,
Aidan,