10-27: The Power of Difficulty
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Thank you for joining us today for worship! Pastor Tag discusses the power of facing difficulties with God at our side as we look at Psalm 107.
Resources:
: The Bible Project :: https://www.bibleproject.com
: YouVersion Bible App :: https://www.bible.com
Psalm 107:25-30
[25] For He spoke and raised up a stormy wind,
Which lifted up the waves of the sea.
[26] They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths;
Their soul melted away in their misery.
[27] They reeled and staggered like a drunken man,
And were at their wits’ end.
[28] Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
And He brought them out of their distresses.
[29] He caused the storm to be still,
So that the waves of the sea were hushed.
[30] Then they were glad because they were quiet,
So He guided them to their desired haven.
Notes:
Context:
1. The Wanderer: 107:4-9
2. The Prisoner: 107:10-16
3. The Afflicted: 107:17-22
4. The Ordinary Life: 107:23-31
Spotlight: Throughout the Scripture God assured His people that He would see them through each difficulty.
God does not always remove our challenges, but gives us grace and guidance to see us through our struggles.
1. Difficulty is God’s Way of Training us.
2. Difficulty Teaches Me to Look at Life from God’s Perspective:
“God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28)
3. Difficulty Empowers Us to Comfort Others:
“The God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)
4. Difficultly Empowers Us to Overcome Evil with Good:
“See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled” (Hebrews 12:15)
5. Difficulty Empowers Us To Rejoice Through Grace That God Will Not Forsake Us:
“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials” (James 1:2)
6. Difficulty Empowers Us To Watch God Work In Our Lives:
“For it is God who is working in you both to will and to do His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13)
7. Difficulty Empowers Us to Have the Attitude of Christ and Experience More Grace:
“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped (seized), but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant and being made in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:5-7)
Summing Up:
Sometimes the storm is not a disruption of our life as much as it is a new pathway of spiritual direction.
It is the wind and the storm that force the tree roots to go deeper for lasting and enduring strength.
Storms cause us to fear, therefore our faith must be firmly planted in His sovereignty His and promises.
