“Plastic or Paper”

Subject: “Plastic or Paper” Sat Nov 29, 2014 11:00 am

For the believer, the occasional (or often) but usually brief (or extended) condition of indecisiveness (other than concerning the Word) can be a manifestation of discouragement, which can lead to disappointment, or visa verse. But regardless, the Lord does not leave him there long, nor will He alter His prearranged exposure time which the trial needs in order to effect the hardness required to accomplish its providential purpose concerning his “good” (Ro 8:28), and His purpose (Eph. 1:9; 3:11).

At the point of realizing the presence of disappointment, the believer has the right to immediately initiate two privileges: know that it’s always a matter of misunderstanding, in that he has directed trust in self instead of God because God never disappoints; and that regardless of how long it is until understanding is achieved concerning the trial, he can “cast all your care upon Him; for He cares for you” (1Pe 5:7). The former is time-related as it requires exposure for its resolution, but the latter brings immediate instruction, in knowing that the hardness can be cast on God in believing that He not only foreknows its arrival but has prearranged for it to result to your “good.”

The reason why there is swifter relief in the “casting” is because to truly execute it requires having already learned the lesson of Romans 8:28, and that this is because “He cares for you,” or best put, He has already cared for you—concerning all things!

Just as there is a threefold resolution to being on fire—stop, drop and roll—there is a threefold resolution to a trial; cast, believe and wait; e.g. we can cast whatever it is on God by believing He is using it for our good, and know that the level concerning the strength of our faith will not only be revealed but also increased commensurate with the level of patience applied, for the more one believes God works all things for his good, the easier it is to “wait for it” (Ro 8:25).

- NC

Devotional Anthology by Miles J Stanford

http://www.abideabove.com/hungry-heart/

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