HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 241
page A239
How can I face challenging, sometimes intimidating opportunities?
• PH I L I PP I A NS 4 :1 3 | For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.
Your ability to face challenges is directly proportional to your faith that God can help you.
With his help, you can make the most of every opportunity.
• R E VE L AT I O N 3 :8 | “I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no
one can close.”
You can trust that nothing will block you from fulfilling a particular opportunity God has for
you. When God opens the door, it will stay open as long as he wants it open. But you must
walk through it!
PROMISES FROM GOD
• MAT T H E W 2 5 :2 9 | “To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given,
and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they
have will be taken away.”
• R E VE L AT I O N 3 :8 | “I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no
one can close.”
Overcoming See Future; Hope; Protection; Salvation
Overwhelmed See Adversity; Pain; Peace
Pain See also Adversity; Depression; Failure; Grief; Healing; Mistakes; Sin; Suffering
From betrayal, neglect, and abandonment to breaking an arm or failing health—the end
result is some kind of emotional or physical pain. When we look back on our lives, we
can all remember the physical tension of our aching bodies or the chest-tightening ache
that comes from a broken heart. Our greatest hope in times of pain is finding healing
from God. Although he does not promise to remove our pain in this life, God does promise to be with us in it and give us hope and purpose in the despair of our aching bodies
and souls. And most importantly, God promises to remove our pain forever in eternity.
What causes pain?
• PSA L M 3 2 :3 -4 | When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned
all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength
evaporated like water in the summer heat.
• A MO S 1 :6 | This is what the Lord says: “The people of Gaza have sinned again and
again, and I will not let them go unpunished!”
• R O MA NS 6 :2 3 | For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through
Christ Jesus our Lord.
God’s commandments are meant to keep you from spiritual, emotional, and physical pain. Disobedience to God causes pain because it is sin and sin always has painful
consequences.
• 1 PE T E R 5 :8 | Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like
a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.
Satan’s activity causes pain because his purpose is to get you to sin. His goal is to trick
you into thinking that sin will relieve your pain, but just the opposite happens. Falling prey
to Satan’s attacks and lies or giving in to his temptations will always cause you pain.
HelpFinder
Oppression See Enemies; Justice; Persecution; Spiritual Warfare; Suffering
P
Opposition See Adversity; Conflict; Enemies; Evil; Persecution; Spiritual Warfare
