Home SEEDS OF THE KINGDOM DAILY DEVOTIONAL Seeds Of The Kingdom 25 May 2022 | Character is Forged in the Furnace of Affliction (1)

Seeds Of The Kingdom 25 May 2022 | Character is Forged in the Furnace of Affliction (1)

by Chibuzor Nwaobasi

Seeds Of The Kingdom 25 May 2022
Seeds of the Kingdom 25 May 2022 Daily Devotional || By Ellel Ministries International

Read Seeds of the Kingdom 25 May 2022 Daily Devotional for Wednesday

 << Previous Seeds of the Kingdom

TOPIC: Character is Forged in the Furnace of Affliction (1)

SCRIPTURE: I have refined you, but not as silver is refined. Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering. – Isaiah 48:10, NIV

Most of us experience the furnace of suffering at some point or another in life. It can be losing a job, relational strife, sickness in the family, persecution, a traumatic event we weren’t expecting or a monumental loss. The list continues.

God is right with us in that place, and wants to walk with us through the process, bringing comfort and sustenance and ultimately hope.

In Romans 5:3-4 (NIV) we read a precious verse about suffering which says, ’because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope’.

Most of us are aware that sinful choices may lead to consequences and suffering. As a result of this, we may equate all suffering as a sign we have done something wrong, subconsciously thinking God has removed His blessings from us. This however does not line up with God’s word. Isaiah 53 tells us that Jesus was familiar with suffering, a man of sorrows. Hebrews 5:11 (NKJV) states that ‘Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.’ It is interesting to note that Jesus, who was without sin, suffered and yet out of it came a beautiful fruit, that of obedience.

We can struggle to understand why suffering has to happen at all. And we can perhaps wonder why Jesus, God’s son, had to suffer so much. Suffering can also come because of the fallen world we are a part of and is something we can’t avoid. But how do we approach it from a godly perspective?

Over my next few devotionals, let’s look at several cases from the Bible to see what we can glean from them:

Can we suffer as a result of going astray?

King David was a man after God’s own heart, but he opened a door to bad choices and experienced suffering as a result. Affliction got David’s attention and caused him to come back to his senses and get back on track with the Lord. He found the Lord in the middle of his mess. He missed the mark more than once through sinful choices, yet in Psalm 119, he acknowledges the goodness of God, the goodness which led him to repentance and back into right-standing before the Lord.

‘Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep Your word. You are good and do good;
teach me Your statutes … It is good for me, that I have been afflicted, that I might learn your statutes’ (Psalm 119:67-68, & 71, NKJV).

Seeds Of The Kingdom 25 May 2022 Daily Devotional written by Gilly Mathiesen; Gilly has a heart to see broken lives healed. She got involved in Christian ministry at a young age, working as a missionary for some years as well as teaching at a Christian school. She has been involved with Ellel Ministries since 2011 and trained and worked on the team in Ireland before moving to Denmark in 2016. She and her husband Steen started pioneering an Ellel work there in early 2018.

Gilly is Centre Director of Ellel Denmark. Steen continues to support Gilly and the Ellel work, in between running his own business. They long to see people healed and set free to be all that God has designed them to be. Daisy, their little dachshund brings such joy with her fun personality. Apart from hanging out with friends, travelling, and walks in beautiful nature, Gilly loves a good book or film to relax with. Seeds Of The Kingdom 25 May 2022 Daily Devotional

We appreciate you visiting our Christian Website today. To Help Us Run 5DailyDevotional.Com Effectively And Publish More Great Content, Support Us By Donating Below:

DONATE HERE

You may also like