Let Him Make Your Heart a Beautiful Place, and Trust :

A Little Bit of Suffering for a Forever Life of Glory

The early Church continued to suffer under persecutions. That means they were treated badly for no reason. People who don’t Believe Jesus (because they want to protect their own self-life) treat God’s little anointed ones terribly.

Both back then and now—anyone who lives an Anointed Life, a Christ Life, can expect some suffering and pain along their way. And, that’s ok because it’s just a little bit of suffering for a forever life of glory with Him. So if someone wants to hurt us or lie about us for following Jesus, we just say, “Phht!” (Because they don’t have anything we want and can’t take away anything we need.)

During one of these times of deep suffering, Peter wrote a letter encouraging all those hurting to hold on to their happy. He wrote:

“By God’s great mercy, He gave us a new birth into a hope that always lives on. God has something planned for you that is perfect, never dying, never getting old, and never fading. By Faith, God’s power protects you and saves you until the last day. This makes us happy, even though we may have to hurt for a short time. That’s ok because your yucky insides are being saved, washed up, changed.

The heaven seers of long ago knew this time of grace would come... They searched so carefully to try to see ahead to how this saving would happen! And they saw that it wasn’t about them, it was about us (and angels long to get a peek at it).

So, get your minds ready for action. Fix your hope on His grace. Like obedient children; don’t give in to evil urges like you used to. Become Holy. Like God said, “Be holy, because I am holy.”

If you call the One “Daddy” who fairly judges each person according to their work—then live the short time you have here on earth full of reverence, awe, and worshipful respect of Him. For you know that it was not with money that you were bought back from the empty way of life handed down to you from your relatives. But, you were bought by the precious blood of the perfect Lamb of God—Jesus.

So get rid of any yucky things: lying, being fake, being jealous, and talking bad about people. Instead, just like how little babies cry out for milk—you should cry out for pure, spiritual milk so that you can guzzle it up and grow, grow, grow.

You who have made yourselves foreigners and exiles on this earth, keep away from the fleshly “I want, I want, I wants” that fight against you.

Always let others see you behaving well, even though they lie by accusing you of wrong. Silence foolish and ignorant people by doing right. You are free, but don’t use your freedom as an excuse for doing wrong.

If people treat you unfairly for being loyal to God, God will bless you. If you suffer for doing good, God will bless you.

God chose you to suffer as you follow in Jesus’ footsteps. Jesus set an example when He suffered for you. He never sinned or lied, and although he was abused, he never “tried to get even” or made threats. He let God take care of Him.

Christ carried the painful weight of our sins. He was nailed to the cross, so that we would stop sinning and start living His way instead of our own. By His cuts and bruises, we are healed! Because even though we wandered away like sheep, we came back to the one who is our shepherd and protector.

Let your beauty come from the inside. That is a beauty that will never disappear.

Live together in peace. Try to understand each other. Love each other. Be kind and humble. Don’t try to get back at people for wronging you or insulting you. Instead, ask God to bless them. Do this because you were chosen to receive a blessing (when you didn’t deserve it).

If you’re always trying to do good, no one can really harm you. If you suffer for doing good, you’re blessed. Don’t be afraid or worried. Always be ready to answer everyone who asks you to explain this hope you have. Live such a good life in Jesus that those people who say bad things about you feel ashamed.

Christ suffered and was killed and was brought to life again by the Spirit. So don’t think it’s strange for you to suffer for Christ, but rejoice that you get to share in His sufferings. And then when His glory is revealed, you’ll be happy and rejoicing even more. If you suffer for being anointed, don’t ever be ashamed, but glorify God in it.

Be sharp and keep watch out for our enemy, satan, who is always prowling around looking for someone to swallow up. Resist that nasty evil enemy. Hold firm to faith (that deep trust in God), knowing that all His Family is experiencing the same sufferings all over the world.

And after you have suffered a little while, the God who has called you to share His shining-greatness forever... will make you perfect and all you ought to be—deeply rooted, strong, and settled. All power is His forever and ever!”

When I was little, I used to think, “I don’t like to hurt. How will I ever be strong enough to be a True Christian?” But here’s what you need to know. God is a Good Daddy. He won’t give us more than we can handle, and He will give anyone who trusts Him the strength they need just when they need it. That’s Faith. That’s Trust. It’s what we believe about Him and how strong HE is, not what we think about ourselves.

So the way that we become “strong enough” is not by trying to be a tough guy or a tough girl, but by always looking to Him with Trust and a wink, even when it hurts.

He wants to Teach us Wisdom, and Patience, and Courage in the middle of any pain we experience now in this temporary life. So we shouldn’t avoid the “painful” things in life... because those times will help us learn to stay snuggled up to Jesus and at Peace. He will make it all worth it.

So no matter what pain or tough times come your way... Trust Him, and Let Him Make your heart a beautiful Place. And even if others are being so mean, you don’t have to be. Love your enemies. Do good to those who hurt you. And when you choose this inward beauty, you become a beautiful flower in the desert. And always remember, He can make flowers bloom, where there were none.