I've been thinking a lot lately about all the big characters of the Bible, or maybe God has been speaking to me about them I should say. Two points of thought regarding this at the moment, but they both bring me encouragement.
Jospeh had a dream, then was betrayed by his own brothers and thrown into a pit. Joseph was still in the will of God while he was in the pit. Then he gets sold into slavery and eventually gets thrown into prison. Joseph was still in the will of God while in prison. After all of this hardship, then God fulfilled the promise to Joseph. I wonder what Joseph was thinking and feeling when he was in the pit and in prison? Did he feel like God gave up on him? Did he feel like he must've been crazy to have believed that dream? Or did he have complete faith and trust in God through it all? Was his soul downcast?
Paul was shipwrecked, beaten etc and all through that he was still in the will of God.
Shadrech, Meshach, and Abednego got thrown into the fiery furnace, but were still in the will of God.
Job lost everything he had and was still in the will of God.
So, I have been very encouraged lately by the thought that even when we face hardships and trials, we are still in the will of God.
The other thought that has encouraged me lately, is again looking at the strong characters of the Bible.
David was used by God to defeat the Philistines. Then he went and commited adultery and then murder. Then he repented. After all of that God still loved him and was pleased with him. He was a man after God's own heart.
Peter is another one that has encouraged me. Peter followed Jesus while He was here on earth, was one of the 3 disciples that Jesus would take with Him to pray. And then He denied Jesus 3 times. God still loved him regardless of that, and still used him mightily.
All throughout the Bible you have fallible men. Men who messed up big time. Men who were not perfect. Men who had flaws for all the world to see. Yet God still loved them and He still used them. He used them so that only He would get all the glory. But I find it encouraging when taking stock of my own black heart and my own imperfections. There is so much in me that I want changed, so much that I don't like. But God still loves me despite my imperfections and faults, my sin and my shortcomings. And that makes me want to cry. I've never met anyone in this life (except my hubby and kids) who has loved me unconditionally like that. There is no one who will love me more than Almighty God! It's sometimes hard for me to realise that God loves me, I struggle to believe it sometimes because I don't even like me with all of my imperfections so why would God. But that is just a by product of all of the relationships I have had thus far, fallible humans loving with a conditional love, an imperfect one. I've always tried to wrap my head around that Scripture that says perfect love casts out fear, but I'm finally starting to understand it a little. I will put up Barnes' commentary on that very Scripture as it explains what I'm trying to say far better than I ever could lol
There is no fear in love - Love is not an affection which produces fear. In the love which we have for a parent, a child, a friend, there is no fear. If a man had perfect love to God, he would have no fear of anything - for what would he have to dread? He would have no fear of death, for he would have nothing to dread beyond the grave. It is guilt that makes people fear what is to come; but he whose sins are pardoned, and whose heart is filled with the love of God, has nothing to dread in this world or the world to come. The angels in heaven, who have always loved God and one another, have no fear, for they have nothing to dread in the future; the redeemed in heaven, rescued from all danger, and filled with the love of God, have nothing to dread; and as far as that same loves operates on earth, it delivers the soul now from all apprehension of what is to come.
