Welcome
to the article on the topic of - Do you smell like smoke?
The
number of people in the world today that feel as though they are at the end of their rope
is exceedingly high. For the most part these people have
good reasons for their concerns and fears. Not being able to pay the rent, buy food
for the family, medicines, medical help, or keep the electrical bill paid on time.
That is only a short list of what it costs to live in this world. When people do not
have the wealth to pay for the basic needs of life. they often become filled with stress
and harmful anxieties. These kind of difficulties can come to anyone at any
time. Nobody is above or perfectly protected from a time of extreme need. People who do not care to know
GOD
by their own will and choosing should not have great expectations that things will turn for good in their lives any time
soon. There is an old saying; "You made your bed, now sleep in
it." By the way the Bible does not say; "GOD
helps those who help themselves". GOD helps
people who love HIM and follow HIS
ways, HIS blessings are far too many to count. Even
Christians suffer from time to time under the same conditions as those who do not know HIM.
Yet there is a 100% difference between the of them. A Follower of JESUS
remembers to keep and maintain their faith in GOD and
HIS
unbreakable promises HE has made to HIS
people. For example: Matthew
6:25-26 "Therefore
I tell you, do not worry
about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.
Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your
HEAVENLY FATHER feeds
them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"
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If
you need more encouragement, in
Chapter 3 in the Book of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar became filled with rage that three
young Jews refused to worship him like everyone else in his kingdom. Daniel
3:19-23 "Then
Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward
them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded
some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and
throw them into the blazing furnace. So these men, wearing their robes, trousers,
turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. The
king's command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the
soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and these three men, firmly tied,
fell into the blazing furnace." |
Our
troubles can't get any more desperate than that! We never reach a place of suffering
in our life where someone who is angry at us can have us thrown into a blazing
furnace. Regardless of how bad things may be for us at any given time, we only have
to turn our hearts to praising GOD in faith, knowing
that HE will rescue us every time we need HIM.
If that's true, you might be asking yourself what happened to the three men in the blazing
furnace? Daniel
3:24-27 " Then
King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren't
there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?"
They
replied, "Certainly, O king." He
said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the
fourth looks like a son of the gods." Nebuchadnezzar
then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, "Shadrach, Meshach
and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!"
So
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors
and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their
bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and
there
was no smell of fire on them." |
The
example is clear: When you trust GOD for
everything in your life whether small or large, casual or tragic, your faith will be
rewarded in full. Not only did GOD save the
lives of these men, but there there
was no smell of fire on them either!
When a Believer refuses to trust GOD
in times of need or troubles, there is a smell of fear, faithlessness and failure on
them. On the other hand, when you have lost your job, health, wealth, peace of mind
and so much more, complete trust in GOD
to fulfill HIS
promises in your life will leave you without
a smell of fire on you even though you are
going through the flames of life.
Ask
yourself this question; "Does your life smell like smoke?"
'Or does your life smell like faith?' If the answer is smoke, it's time to live the
remainder of your life by making the proper choices. Click below - |
