Chasing Carrots: Comfort

CHASING CARROTS—5

COMFORT

“With idolatry we take what GOD called good and we remove a letter. Give it the ultimate status in our lives and hope with all our hearts it will be the deity we’ve baptized it as.”  Jackie Hill Perry 

Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  1 John 

15-17 Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from Him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.  1 John 2:15-17 MSG

CHASING A COUNTERFEIT COMFORT

1. REVEALS SPIRITUAL EMPTINESS 

“For Christ’s love compels us.. that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” 2 CO 5:14-15

When your comfort is removed do you complain or look for perspective?  

2. ELIMINATES OUR NEED FOR FAITH 

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.  Hebrews 11:6

EMBRACE THE AUTHENTIC “Devine Comfort” 

Joyful in Hope, Patient in Affliction and Faithful in Prayer.   Romans 12:12. 

3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. 4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 5 For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with His comfort through Christ.  2 Corinthians 1:3-6  

EMBRACE DIVINE DISCOMFORT 

• You can’t always fix the mess, but HE may use it to change you. 
• That obstacle is an opportunity for God to show off
• The set back is going to become a divine set up
• Your misery is going to become your ministry 

8-11 We don’t want you in the dark, friends, about how hard it was when all this came down on us in Asia province. It was so bad we didn’t think we were going to make it. We felt like we’d been sent to death row, that it was all over for us. As it turned out, it was the best thing that could have happened. Instead of trusting in our own strength or wits to get out of it, we were forced to trust God totally—not a bad idea since he’s the God who raises the dead! And he did it, rescued us from certain doom. And he’ll do it again, rescuing us as many times as we need rescuing. 2 CO 1:8-11 MSG

He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us.  2CO 1:3-5 MSG

6-7 When we suffer for Jesus, it works out for your healing and salvation. If we are treated well, given a helping hand and encouraging word, that also works to your benefit, spurring you on, face forward, unflinching. Your hard times are also our hard times.  2CO 2:6-7 MSG

“God never waste a hurt.”  Rick Warren

12-14 Now that the worst is over, we’re pleased we can report that we’ve come out of this with conscience and faith intact, and can face the world—and even more importantly, face you with our heads held high. But it wasn’t by any fancy footwork on our part. It was God who kept us focused on him, uncompromised.  2 CO 2:12-14 MSG