{"id":25065,"date":"2023-01-25T23:15:09","date_gmt":"2023-01-26T06:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/gospel-express\/2023-difficult-copy\/"},"modified":"2023-01-25T23:54:29","modified_gmt":"2023-01-26T06:54:29","slug":"2023-otherside","status":"publish","type":"portfolio","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/gospel-express\/2023-otherside\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s on the Other Side of Your Troubles?"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY RICK WARREN<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cOur light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (NIV)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

When a crisis hits, you have to do the smart things necessary to get through it. You listen to God\u2019s Word and godly advice, you make good choices, and you keep moving forward while remembering that this will pass. It\u2019s not going to last forever!<\/p>\n

The Bible says in 1 Peter 4:12,\u00a0\u201cDear friends, don\u2019t be bewildered or surprised when you go through the fiery trials ahead, for this is no strange, unusual thing that is going to happen to you\u201d<\/em>\u00a0(TLB).<\/p>\n

In this world, there will be times of trial and testing. It\u2019s guaranteed! Since sin entered the world, nothing works perfectly. Everything on this planet is broken\u2014the weather, the economy, your body, and even your best plans. Nothing works perfectly in this life because sin broke everything on Earth.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Isaiah 24 says,\u00a0\u201cThe land suffers for the sins of its people . . . [they] have twisted the laws of God and broken his everlasting commands . . . The earth has broken down in utter collapse\u201d<\/em>\u00a0(Isaiah 24:4-5, 19 TLB).<\/p>\n

On Earth, everything is lost, abandoned, and confused. Even nature is groaning. We may wonder why God allowed sin and evil to enter the world; it\u2019s because God wanted us to have a choice.<\/p>\n

And we\u2019re the ones who have chosen to cause evil. We\u2019re the ones who are selfish and self-centered and cause problems in society and in our environment.<\/p>\n

This Earth is not heaven. That\u2019s why Jesus taught us to pray the Lord\u2019s Prayer\u2014\u201dyour will be done, on earth as it is in heaven\u201d\u00a0<\/em>(Matthew 6:10 NIV). Heaven is a perfect place with no sorrow, sickness, sadness, or stress, but we shouldn\u2019t expect heaven on Earth. One day we\u2019ll get there, but we\u2019re not there yet.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

You will get through whatever trial you\u2019re facing right now. Soon enough you will marvel at all that God did in the midst of your trouble as you look at it from the other side.<\/p>\n

There will be more challenges to face and adversity to endure. But you can always hope in this truth:\u00a0\u201cOur light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal\u201d<\/em>\u00a0(2 Corinthians 4:17-18 NIV).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":25066,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[],"portfolio_entries":[35],"class_list":["post-25065","portfolio","type-portfolio","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","portfolio_entries-english-writer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/25065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/portfolio"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25065"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/25065\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25070,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/25065\/revisions\/25070"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25065"},{"taxonomy":"portfolio_entries","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio_entries?post=25065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}