God's Blessing During Affliction
I wrote a post recently about how God blessed Joseph while he was in bondage as a slave to Potiphar and in prison unjustly. Today, I want to add to that. God can and does bless us, even when Satan is sending afflictions to prevent us from growing.(Genesis 1:12) We can grow stronger and multiply during the times of our afflictions. Satan can't stamp us out through afflictions, if we will remain faithful to the Lord.
After Joseph died, the new Egyptian rulers who did not know him, saw that the Lord was so blessing the Israelites that they were stronger and more in number than the Egyptians. Therefore, they put them into bondage as slaves and made them do very rigorous labor. They tried to kill the baby boys that were born, too. However, all of this affliction that was designed to weaken the people of God did just the opposite. They multiplied faster and became a greater nation than ever before.
The truth is that God can do that same thing in our lives, in our churches, and in our country, if we will be faithful to do His will. The persecution of Christians in times past did not stop the gospel from spreading, but the "blood of the martyrs was the seed of the church." The more believers they killed, the more God raised up. God is able to bring us through the affliction and make us stronger than before. I pray that we will all realize this so we don't give up and stop trusting during our afflictions. God can bless us the way He blessed the Israelites in Egypt to grow during afflictions.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Exodus 3-5.
After Joseph died, the new Egyptian rulers who did not know him, saw that the Lord was so blessing the Israelites that they were stronger and more in number than the Egyptians. Therefore, they put them into bondage as slaves and made them do very rigorous labor. They tried to kill the baby boys that were born, too. However, all of this affliction that was designed to weaken the people of God did just the opposite. They multiplied faster and became a greater nation than ever before.
The truth is that God can do that same thing in our lives, in our churches, and in our country, if we will be faithful to do His will. The persecution of Christians in times past did not stop the gospel from spreading, but the "blood of the martyrs was the seed of the church." The more believers they killed, the more God raised up. God is able to bring us through the affliction and make us stronger than before. I pray that we will all realize this so we don't give up and stop trusting during our afflictions. God can bless us the way He blessed the Israelites in Egypt to grow during afflictions.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Exodus 3-5.