Tag Archives: vantage point

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Trials and Joy

1 Comment

Charles Stanley
James 1:2-4,12
“Consider it all joy . . . when you encounter various trials” (James 1:2)—what a preposterous statement! How can that make sense when joy and trials don’t fit together? But James is presenting a divine vantage point, not a human one. There are some surprising benefits in suffering, which aren’t easy to discern.
First of all, we need to understand that these verses are not telling us to be happy in our pain, but rather to rejoice in the blessings that accompany suffering. The word consider is an accounting term that means “to evaluate.” When we look at hardships from God’s perspective and place the proper value on them, we can rejoice in the beneficial outcome, even while experiencing pain. Humanly speaking, trials hurt; but from the Lord’s point of view, they help.
The only way to rejoice during trials is to understand what God wants them to accomplish. Regardless of the difficulty’s source, we can know that the Lord wants to use it to test our faith and thereby produce endurance and spiritual maturity. In every trial, He has hidden a precious character gem, but whether we receive it depends upon our response. Those who want to be transformed into the image of Christ can rejoice in the many benefits that accompany suffering.
How about you? Does your hunger to know the Lord and be transformed by Him exceed your dread of suffering? None of us want to experience pain, but since it’s an unavoidable reality in this fallen world, why not respond in a way that produces eternal benefit? Let’s not waste our suffering.

Uncategorized

Charles Stanley – Our Need for Spiritual Discernment

1 Comment

 

Philippians 1:8-11

Have you ever asked yourself, How do I know this is the right decision? Often there’s no scripture that addresses in detail the particular choice we need to make—for example, what kind of car to buy, the best investment to make, which job to accept, or whether to work or spend time with the family when overtime hours are offered. Rather than specifying exhaustive rules that speak to every possible situation in life, God’s Word contains principles and instructions to guide our decision making.

That is not to say God hands us His Book and then leaves us alone. To ensure that our feet remain on the right path, He grants us spiritual discernment—the capacity to judge between right and wrong, wise and unwise, good and best.

In cultivating such discernment, we’re inviting God to be intimately involved in all our decisions; there is no matter too insignificant for His consideration and assistance. A plan that is outside the Lord’s will—or even good decisions formulated without consulting Him—can short-circuit His plan to give us His best.

Spiritual discernment protects us from making decisions based on what looks good or feels right. We are limited to five senses and our experience, but God views our lives from a vantage point of infinite knowledge. Our instructor, the Holy Spirit, teaches us the wisdom of God’s way and knows precisely how to apply it to our unique circumstances. As we develop a habit of following His promptings, our senses become trained to distinguish good from evil, and we mature spiritually (Heb. 5:14).