"For His Glory"

 "When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby." (John 11:4 KJV) 

  "I pray that your love will overflow more and more, that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you will live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ's return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation - the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ - for this will bring much glory and praise to God." (Philippians 1:9-11 NLT)

 Okay, so this seems easy enough to understand; but what happens to us when it is our turn to be the one that is suffering? Do we remain steadfast and continue looking up? Basically, it remains to be seen! Yes, that is what exactly what it means! If your faith remains, and you are suffering through anything, then that faith of you have hidden in your heart, it gets to come out, for all those who are watching, to be seen! 

 I'm sorry if it hurts, but it only hurts for a little while! You only get so many opportunities to show off your faith; in the suffering, is when people take notice, as they really are looking for something that is real. In this current culture, it is hard to tell the difference between the believers and the non-believers; but, if you squeeze a little bit of the world out of a believer, and the Jesus shows up! 

 Anywho, this is not just your average sickness that Jesus is speaking about, because this is about life! If you have been paying attention, there is something that is unchanging and unstoppable in the Kingdom of God, while here, in this world, it is unprotected and is dying, each and every day! 

 That is the one thing that amazes me about Ecclesiastes, because the writer keeps referring to, "Under the sun," which is the equivalent to saying, 'In this world.' But thanks be to God, we are no longer of this world, because we are under the Son...  

"Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." (James 1:2-4 NLT)