All For the Glory of God!

Acts 20:24 (TPT) “But whether I live or die is not important, for I don’t esteem my life as indispensable. It’s more important for me to fulfill my destiny and to finish the ministry my Lord Jesus has assigned to me, which is to faithfully preach the wonderful news of God’s grace."

We can learn so much from Paul's teachings. Here's this man who once prided himself in persecuting Christians. Now one touch of God...an experience on the road to Damascus...a bright light and the presence of the very One he hated, completely transformed his beliefs, heart and life.

As we look at Paul's life we see that though he was blessed with incredible revelations, he also experienced great difficulties. He never blamed God for his trials, he only saw them as meer obstacles that tried to divert his ministry, but he was so in love with Jesus and passionate about the message that he was unstoppable. The enemy tried every possible scenario to destroy his ministry, but it was to no avail. Actually it was the opposite effect. The greater the trial, the more he worshiped Jesus in the midst of it and great revelations and miracles followed. Most give up on their faith when things don't go as they would like. With Paul... it fueled both his faith and his ministry.

Trials have a way of making or breaking us. With each one, there's always a fork in the road and a decision to make about which way we are going to go. We can choose to get fixated on the problem, turn our back on God and become depressed and riddled with fear and anxiety, or we can choose to trust God in the face of the difficulties therefore setting sail to our destiny and a new adventure, as we rest in His arms fully believing that He is working behind the scenes on our behalf.

Let's face it, we love to hear great testimonies of incredible miracles that God has done in people's lives, yet in order to receive the victory there must first be an attack of some sort. No test... no testimony, right?

Stop giving the enemy the attention he desires as he comes against you or your family. As bad news arrives, take it to God, pray over it, rebuke the devourer, stay fully focused on Jesus, trust Him with the outcome and give Him the praise He deserves.

Just as Paul has said, our priority in life must be to fulfill our God given destiny, to please Jesus and to trust Him with every detail of our lives. Refuse to be distracted!! Give Him first place in your life, stay grounded in the Word and worship Him in both the good and the difficult seasons. That's how we please God, give glory to His name and maintain our peace in the midst of the storm.

2 Corinthians 11:23-33 (TPT) Are they servants of the Anointed One? I’m beside myself when I speak this way, but I am much more of a servant than they. I have worked much harder for God, taken more beatings, and been dragged to more prisons than they. I’ve been flogged excessively, multiple times, even to the point of death. Five times I’ve received thirty-nine lashes from the Jewish leaders.Three times I experienced being beaten with rods.Once they stoned me.Three times I’ve been shipwrecked; for an entire night and a day I was adrift in the open sea. In my difficult travels I’ve faced many dangerous situations: perilous rivers, robbers, foreigners, and even my own people. I’ve survived deadly peril in the city, in the wilderness, with storms at sea, and with spies posing as believers. I’ve toiled to the point of exhaustion and gone through many sleepless nights. I’ve frequently been deprived of food and water, left hungry and shivering out in the cold, lacking proper clothing. And besides these painful circumstances, I have the daily pressure of my responsibility for all the churches, with a deep concern weighing heavily on my heart for their welfare. I am not aloof, for who is desperate and weak and I do not feel their weakness? Who is led astray into sin and I do not burn with zeal to restore him? If boasting is necessary, I will boast about examples of my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is eternally praised, knows that I am speaking the truth. Once, when I was in Damascus, the governor under King Aretas had his troops searching for me to have me arrested, but I was stuffed in a basket and lowered down through a window and managed to escape.

Acts 19:11-12 (NKJV) Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.

Acts 16:22-26 (NKJV) Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.