God uses circumstances to develop our character.

11 Corinthians  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. These little troubles are getting us ready for an eternal glory that will make all our troubles seem like nothing.  Contemporary English version. God uses circumstances to develop our character.  In fact, he depends more on circumstances to make us like Jesus than he depends on our reading the bible.  The reason is obvious:  We face circumstances twenty four hours a day.  Jesus warned us that we would have problems in the world, John 16:33 -These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer: I have overcome the world." No one is immune to pain or insulated from suffering, and no one gets to skate through life problem-free.  Life is a series of problems.  Every time you solve one, another is waiting to take its place.  Not allof them are big, but all are significant in God’s growth process for us.  1 Peter -12Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you. God uses problems to draw us closer to himself.  The bible says, Psalms 34:18 -The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as are of a contrite spirit.  Contrite – Crushed. Your most profound and intimate experiences of worship will likely be in your darkest days, when your heart is broken, when you feel abandoned, when you are out of options, when the pain is great, and you turn to God alone.  This is when we will pray our most authentic, heartfelt, honest to God prayers.  When we are in pain, we do not have the energy for superficial prayers. GOD COULD HAVE ·          Kept Joseph out of Jail ·          Kept Daniel out of the lions den ·          Kept Jeremiah from being tossed into a slimy pit ·          Kept Paul from being shipwrecked three times ·          Kept the three Hebrew boys from being thrown into the blazing furnace. But he didn’t.  He let those problems happen, and every one of those persons were drawn closer to God as a result.  You will never know that God is all you need until God is all that you’ve got! II Corinthians 1:9 -In fact, in our hearts we felt as if we were under the sentence of death. But that happened so that we would not depend on ourselves but on God. He raises the dead to life. New international readers version. FATHER FILTERED PROBLEMS Regardless of the cause, none of your problems could happen without God’s permission.  Everything that happens to a child of God is father filtered, and he intends to use it for good even when Satan and others mean it for bad. Filtered – God removes unnecessary trials and tailor makes the problems to fit.  Everything that happens to us has spiritual significance. Psalms 139:16-but with your own eyes you saw my body being formed. Even before I was born, you had written in your book everything I would do. Romans 8:28-29 We know that God is always at work for the good of e veryone who loves him. [a] They are the ones God has chosen for his purpose, 29and he has always known who his chosen ones would be. He had decided to let them become like his own Son, so that his Son would be the first of many children. We know – Our hope in difficult times is not based on positive thinking, wishful thinking, or natural optimism.  It is a certainty based on the truths that God is in complete control of our universe and that he loves us. That God Causes – There is a grand designer behind everything.  Your life is not a result of random chance, fate, or luck.  There is a master plan.  History is His story.  God is pulling the strings.  We make mistakes, but God never does.  God cannot make a mistake because he is God. Everything – God’s plan for your life involves all that happens to you, including your mistakes, your sins, and your hurts.  It includes illness, debts, diasters, divorse, and death of loved ones.  God can bring good out of the worst evil.  He did at . To work Together – Not separately, or independently.  The events in your life work together in God’s plan.  They are not isolated acts, but interdependent parts of the process to make you like Christ.  To bake a cake you must use flour, salt, raw eggs, sugar, and oil.  Eaten individually, each is pretty distasteful or even bitter.  But bake them together and they become delicious. If you will give God all of your distasteful, unpleasant experiences, he will blend them together for good. For the Good – God specializes in bringing good out of everything that we go through.    God can bring good out of bad! Of those who Love God and are called – This promise is for the children of God only. Romans 5:3-4 (Contemporary English Version) 3But that's not all! We gladly suffer, [a] because we know that suffering helps us to endure. 4And endurance builds character, which gives us a hope 1 Peter 1:7 Your faith will be like gold that has been tested in a fire. And these trials will prove that your faith is worth much more than gold that can be destroyed. They will show that you will be given praise and honor and glory when Jesus Christ returns. James 1:3 - You know that you learn to endure by having your faith tested. Romans 8:17- His Spirit lets us know that together with Christ we will be given what God has promised. We will also share in the glory of Christ, because we have suffered with him. Jeremiah 29:11 -I will bless you with a future filled with hope--a future of success, not of suffering. 1 Thess 5:1818 Whatever happens, keep thanking God because of Jesus Christ. This is what God wants you to do. Pastor Sharon Therese Spencer