IN TOUCH DAILY DEVOTIONAL JULY 21, 2023, FRIDAY INSPIRATIONAL MESSAGE
Read In Touch Daily Devotional July 21, 2023 Friday Message With Dr. Charles Stanley
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TOPIC: The Source of Our Adversity
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE: Ecclesiastes 7:10-14
Do not say, “Why is it that the former days were better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.
Wisdom along with an inheritance is good And an advantage to those who see the sun.
For wisdom is protection just as money is protection, But the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the lives of its possessors.
Consider the work of God, For who is able to straighten what He has bent?
In the day of prosperity be happy, But in the day of adversity consider– God has made the one as well as the other So that man will not discover anything that will be after him.
MESSAGE: When we encounter difficulties, we might wonder why God allows those painful situations. How do we reconcile our suffering with His love for us and His power to prevent or stop it? In order to understand what’s going on, we need to consider the possible sources of adversity.
A Fallen World: When sin entered the world, suffering came with it. So we might wonder why God didn’t simply make us like puppets that were unable to choose sin. But if we lacked free will, we’d be unable to choose to love Him. And love, by its very nature, must be voluntary.
Our Own Doing: Sometimes we face consequences from our own foolish or sinful choices.
Satanic Attack: Satan’s goal is to destroy believers’ lives and testimonies, thereby making us weak and useless for God’s purposes.
For us to accept that God allows adversity, we must first see it from His perspective. Is your focus on the pain of your experience or on the Lord and His faithfulness? As Christians, we’re assured that no adversity comes our way unless He can use it to achieve His good purposes.
Bible in One Year: Song of Solomon 5-8
REFLECT: Do you struggle to understand why God allows pain and suffering?
READ ALSO: Our Daily Bread Devotional July 21, 2023: Room for Silence
In Touch Daily Devotional July 21, 2023. Charles Stanley is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church Atlanta and founder of In Touch Ministries, both located in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Stanley’s heart’s desire is to get the gospel to “as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, as clearly as possible, as irresistibly as possible, through the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God.
