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1 Peter 1:8
8 Whom [hos] having [eido] not [ou] seen [eido] [eido], ye love [agapao]; in [eis] whom [hos], though now [arti] ye see [horao] him not [me], yet [de] believing [pisteuo], ye rejoice [agalliao] with joy [chara] unspeakable [aneklaletos] and [kai] full of glory [doxazo]: KJV-Interlinear
8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, NASB
Neither you nor I have ever seen God. We have never seen Christ. All we have is the Bible and the evidence that it gives to us from centuries of consistency within its writings. That is really all we have – the written word.
But more than that, we have the supernatural phenomena which we call the spiritual life. And in that spiritual life God takes the often times ho-hum words out from the Bible, and opens up our eyes so that we can see everything in life. And that allows us to see far beyond the stories, the begets, the parting of the seas, the baby in the manger and so forth.
And because the Bible teaches truth, and because the world promotes lies, then it takes just a little bit of pondering, on our part, to see that the Bible and its path for our life is far, far better than anything we could encounter in this world.
Sure we can look around and see examples of prosperity and health and activities that we associate with contentment, but then all of those examples amount to but a fraction of a percent of the worlds population. Many billions of people do not have the luxuries that we see in the ads and lives of celebrities.
And for the most of us, probably ninety percent of the world, who are in the poverty, lower, or middle classes, life is just one day or month after another, of problems.
Why? Because this is the Devils world, not yet Gods new universe to come.
And why is this? Why not just end it all now? Because God has a plan, and that plan affects many millions or billions of people who have lived, are living, and will live in generations to come. Those future folks deserve their chance to be born, to live, and to elect for God, if that is their choice.
Besides, Satan is the one who is never satisfied and calls foul whenever God does or does not do something. So all of the many endless scenarios of history have to play themselves out, as Satan runs out of complaints. And then, history will turn in our favor.
God has a plan. God has a specific plan for your life, specific for your life. For some there will be health issues. For others there will be financial issues. For still others there will be social issues. For us all, there will be issues specific to our life.
You have issues, and whether they are good ones or bad, you should be thankful for them. Why? Because God gave to you, or allowed circumstances to enter into your life, in order to prove to the world, that no matter what the situation, whether good or bad, there will always be those who will rise above their problems, look to God, understand that this life is nothing more than a temporary training ground, and that our real life isn’t here, but through doctrine, exists in eternity, where we have the opportunity, now, to even define our destiny and have far more then, than anyone could possibly have now.
Are there billionaires now? Yes. But in eternity, and through doctrine and spiritual growth to maturity, you will be a trillionaire, a trillion times over and more. No one has or ever will achieve that in human history.
But you have to learn to stick it out in a daily study. What is that? You have to read your study, and learn it, and then with God in charge of your life, you will grow up and be successful forever.
You will never get away from the parasites and predators of this world, but then they can never stop you from reading everyday. And sooner or later, your proof of faith will manifest itself in a more relaxed mental state of mind, and confidence in God and your future. But also, you will possess these things now in this life as well.
When the soldier charges out of the landing craft onto the beach, with bullets and bombs flying everywhere, doom seems certain. But God has a plan for your life. If a bullet is meant for you, then you will never avoid it, but if God has a better plan for your life, then all of the bullets aimed at you specifically, will never touch you.
Remember the story of Elisha. He was in a city surrounded by an enemy. Someone said, what are we to do? And Elisha opened up his eyes and saw thousands of angels with flaming swords committed to the fight.
With God fighting for you, then the world can accomplish nothing, and even if it does get an advantage against you, the world has won only that which is temporary and worthless. You have lost nothing when you lose worthless things.
God has a plan for your life. To some He gives health, and to some poor health. To some He gives prosperity and to some no prosperity. To some He gives success, and to some He gives no success. You are all in the same boat, regardless of your situation. Your tests in this life may be different, but the goal for all is the same.
Now, here is wisdom. God is truth. Bible doctrine is the doorway to truth. Fear of God, means to respect, to stand in awe of Him, of truth. So, learn doctrine, which is what God has manifested in this life, to be greater than anything.
And the result? Joy, happiness, contentment, and glory forever, and ever, and far more.
Your life will end one day, and your hundred years, or whatever, or less, will amount to nothing more than a blink in your eternal lifespan.
You have this one opportunity to make yourself successful forever. When you were born, you never had any say in your current life. But now that you are born again, you can almost define and design your next life. And from all of this, we can look to no one, we can touch no one, we can hear no one. All we have is our faith that the Bible is truth, and that it is our very best hope – it is our only hope for something better.
You can take advantage of it, or you can ignore all of this Bible stuff and look for something better.
