Day 5: Week 6 (The Discipline of Difficulties)

[russhutto]

The Discipline of Difficulties

1) Central Passage(s):

2 Chronicles 20
John 15:1-3
Matthew 7:16; Galatians 5:22-23
Romans 8:28
James 1:2-4
2 Corinthians 12:8-9


2) My Daily Praise:
Write a sentence or two thanking God for the strength he built or is building in you.

3) My Daily Surrender:
Write a prayer of surrender to the Lord today.

[WorshipVanguard]

Central passages:
Today, I cried out of joy! The trials the Lord put me through brought me closer to Him. When others wrongly speak of my motives and my character, I know the Lord is my defense. He will testify for me that my heart is after His, and my desire is to see His will done here as it is in Heaven. Honestly, I’m still hurt by all the bad judgments spoken about my character to my face, but the Lord reminds me daily HE DEFENDS ME! He will hold me up with his right hand for others to see I have his favor! My tears poured when I came to that realization. He is SOOO good!

Daily Praise:
Lord, I can think of numerous times I have come to you with grievances and you answered. I remember when I was young in my bowling days my attitude was horrendous. In service one Sunday morning, I said to you, “Lord, these people do not see who I really am.” The following Saturday in my bowling league as I glanced at my bowling peers, I heard you say, “No, Melanie. THEY do not see who you really are.” At that moment I KNEW you considered my YOUR CHILD and valued me very highly! Even my most recent struggle with the church, you gave me a vision of an old music box with gems on it. You blew off the dust, opened it up and said, “I will make the old things new with you again.” At that moment, I KNEW you are my restorer. (OK, that's WAY more than TWO sentences, but I don't care. My God is good, and I love sharing it! :D)

Daily Surrender:
Lord, I can’t think of anything I have that is so precious that it attempts to replace you. I’ve made painful strides to give you everything I have so nothing hinders our communication. Father, please reveal anything to me that is holding me back from being pruned as your word says. I want to store my treasures in Heaven where neither moths nor rust destroy. You reign in my heart. I’m yours!

[Wannabe a Worshiper]

Central Passages
The illustration of the rocks being tumbled, along with the scripture from John 15, make it clear that the only way to become what God wants of us is to submit to the Father's pruning. Both examples imply pain, and pain is something I avoid like the plague.

Most of the hardship I have experienced has been of my own making, and, I know, there is still much about me that the Father needs to prune.

James says we should consider it pure joy when we face trials, because trials are the things that build in us the character traits that God can use. I wish I could look at my trials and see how God has changed me by them, but nothing really comes to mind.

My Daily Praise
God, I thank you for the trials you have sent my way, and for those yet to come. Though I can't place my finger on the changes in my life, I know they are there. I know the passion that builds so easily in me comes from the pain I've had, and the tenderness in my heart is there because it has been broken.

My Daily Surrender
Jesus, I confess that I need a good pruning. There is much about me that is unfruitful. Though I don't look forward to what may come to bring about the pruning, I pray that you will give me insight to recognize it for what it is, grace to endure, and joy to praise you in the storm.

[InHisName]

Central Passage

A few years ago I went through a Bruce Wilkinson study about this very topic. He used grapevines, clippers, and baskets to illustrate the point. He explained that in order to produce good fruit, the extra branches and twigs need to be pruned off. It was neat to have a visual.
The end product, the fruit, is wonderful. The process of growing good fruit, the pruning, is sometimes painful. Oftentimes I can't see beyond the nose on my face when facing difficulties. Especially when I'm in the "tumbler" and God is trying to smooth me out. It seems like it will never end, that nothing good will come of it when in fact the opposite is true.

Daily Praise
Lord, thank you for humbling me in a big way when an audition went poorly. I SO wasn't ready for what I was going for, and you showed that to me, along with working on my pride. So thank you.

I also thank you for working on my pride, again, when I realized how much work I needed on my voice. Please continue to humble me...help me to humble myself when need be. Thank you for making me who I am.

Daily Surrender

Lord, I am yours. My voice, my piano, my mind, my words, my passion. Please bring to light the treasures I need to share. Please help me have the courage to (dare I say it?) work on speaking and teaching, also. You have been giving me glimpses of where we will be, and I know that will be a part of it. Please help me not to dread it or be nervous, but to give my all to you and your will. AMEN!!

[bkwestman]

1. Central Passage
- Suffering difficulties in life is part of life, and is not something from which Christians are exempt. Jesus can use those events to prune us and make us more like Him. I loved reading how the painful circumstances in Dwayne's life led him to learn more about certain aspects of who Jesus was. Calling Jesus our Defense, Father, Friend means so much more when we need to rely on Him for those things. "Every valley must have two mountains." Great way to think about it!

2. My Daily Praise
- Lord, thank You for showing me how to trust you as Provider during so many times when we didn't know where the money would come from. Thank You for showing me how to be humble by putting me in so many situations where I had to rely on Your strength and wisdom to get me through.

3. My Daily Surrender
- Lord, help me to surrender all to you, even those things I want to hold so tightly to - like my family, my resources, my life. You are worth it all!!