#Isaiah 45:23

[owochimauwu]

hebrews 11:40 // isaiah 45:23 | the mountain goats

[themountaingoatstruisms]

I WON'T GET BETTER BUT SOMEDAY I'LL BE FREE

[greatunstablemassofbloodandfoam]

Every week my brain chemistry gets permanently altered by a different mountain goats song

[hope-ful-assassin-of-zeno]

If my prayer goes unanswered, that's alright

If my path fills with darkness, and there is no sign of light

Let me praise you for the good times, let me hold your banner high

Until the hills are flattened, and the rivers all run dry

[malaisequotes]

“I am not this body that imprisons me.”

Isaiah 45:23 by The Mountain Goats

[fics-recommendations]

Isaiah 45:23

”You bring me low,” Dream whispers against his neck, licks along the reddened lines he’s left. “You make me burn for you. I enter this place and feel what it is to approach godliness."

Hob Gadling plants some poppies, pays his servers overtime, and navigates the complicated maze that is an anthropomorphic representation of dreaming with PTSD.

Read it here by Moorishflower

[kingcunny]

Please give us all your Baldwin thoughts (historical or movie) really love your Vizzy T posts

haha thank youuu <3 these arent all my thoughts about baldwin but right now i cant stop thinking about the line

“when i was 16 i won a great victory. i felt in that moment i would live to be 100. now i know i shall not see 30.”

baldwin says he was diagnosed with leprosy as a boy*, so its not like at this moment he just didnt know about his disease. he knew he was sick and what his fate was. but that victory, that feeling of success, overpowered the more logical parts of his brain. and he just… forgot about the reality of his situation. at least for a little while.

and sure a 16 year old boy having an “im invincible! im gonna live forever!” moment isnt anything new. but baldwin having a moment like that after getting diagnosed with a chronic degenerative (terminal? for his time period?) disease… theres something very bittersweet to me about it. makes me wonder how long that feeling of invincibility lasted. what was it that Reminded him. brought him back down.

(*irl baldwin, while suspected of having leprosy as a child, wasnt formally diagnosed until after he became king. wether they told him about these suspicions or not he wouldve still Known there was Something Wrong.)

[aestariiwilderness]

Abortion is Murder & Unbiblical

The Bible does not use the word abortion. How could it? The term itself as a procedure wasn't invented yet! However, the Bible does cover: 

Humanity's inherent value and rights as (uniquely among creation) made in the image of God

Murder

Child/infant murder as something abhorrent to God

Life's beginnings, indirectly (although that also has biological support)��

Legal ramifications of killing a child in the womb 

How God sees and interacts with children in the womb 

How we as His followers are meant to treat children 

What He expects us to do for the defenseless and vulnerable (i.e., the most defenseless and vulnerable human imaginable is the one in the womb) 

And how the question of following Him and His Word is what makes or breaks the difference between a Christian and someone who claims the name but is tragically unsaved  Below are some verses and some additional explication (partial credit: @glowsticks-and-jesus)  

Proverbs 31:8 

Luke 1:44 

2nd Kings 17:17 

Jeremiah 19:5 

Genesis 9:6 

Exodus 21:22-25 

Matthew 7:20 - 23 

John 15:14 

1st John 1:5-10, 2:3-6 

Exodus 20:13 

Mark 10:13-15 Leviticus 20:3-5 (https://biblehub.com/hebrew/mizzaro_2233.htm) 

Matthew 18:10, 14

Psalm 22:10

Jacob & Esau, John the Baptist, Samson, etc. 

Judges 16:17  Glowsticks-and-Jesus Collection:

"Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 'Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.'"Jeremiah 1:4-5

"The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name."Isaiah 49:1

John the Baptist leaped in Elizabeth’s womb when Mary greeted her cousin (Luke 1:39-45), an example that babies in utero are responsive human beings already aware of the outside world.

The righteous Hebrew midwives at the time of Moses pleased God by saving babies deemed unworthy of life by the authorities of their day (Ex. 1:15-21).

 As an additional note -- these references are included above, but worth a second mention -- it's plain that child sacrifice - child murder - is something that God abhors and explicitly does not command. I'd look here (https://biblehub.com/jeremiah/19-5.htm) and here (https://biblehub.com/2_kings/17-17.htm) and check out the cross-references as well. Likewise, there is direct support for laws against murder and the protection of the unborn (up to capital punishment) in the Bible (Genesis 9:6; Exodus 21:22-25  -- an additional reference here included about the common misunderstanding of the latter verses: https://www.str.org/w/what-exodus-21-22-says-about-abortion).

In summary -- it's possible (although, I believe, it does deprive its proponents of a foundational basis for the value of life) to be both secular and anti-abortion. But it is not possible for a Christian who truly understands their faith, their God, and His Word to be pro-abortion.

[girlbloggercher]

how to read the Bible

this is in order!

1. John

2. Mark

3. Matthew

4. Luke

5. Genesis

6. Exodus

7. Leviticus

8. Numbers

9. Dueteronomy

10. Romans

11. Galatians

12. Colossians

13. Proverbs

14. Ecclesiastes

15. Job

16. 1 Peter

17. 1 Corinthians

18. 2 Corinthians

19. Ephesians

20. Philippians

21. 1 Thessalonians

22. 2 Thessalonians

23. 1 Timothy

24. 2 Timothy

25. James

26. 2 Peter

27. 1 John

28. 2 John

29. 3 John

30. Jude

31. Psalms

32. Joshua

33. Judges

34. 1 Samuel

35. 2 Samuel

36. 1 Kings

37. 2 Kings

38. 1 Chronicles

39. 2 Chronicles

40. Ezra

41. Nehemiah

42. Jeremiah

43. Lamentations

44. Ezekiel

45. Joel

46. Amos

47. Obadiah

48. Nahum

49. Habakkuk

50. Zephaniah

51. Haggai

52. Zechariah

53. Malachi

54. Micah

55. Hosea

56. Luke

57. Esther

58. Jonah

59. Song of Solomon

60. Acts

61. Titus

62. Philemon

63. Hebrew

64. Isaiah

65. Daniel

66. Revelation

[haveyoulistenedtothisalbum-poll]

Tracklist:

1 Samuel 15:23 �� Psalms 40:2 • Genesis 3:23 • Philippians 3:20-21 • Hebrews 11:40 • Genesis 30:3 • Romans 10:9 • 1 John 4:16 • Matthew 25:21 • Deuteronomy 2:10 • Isaiah 45:23 • Ezekiel 7 and the Permanent Efficacy of Grace

Spotify ♪ Bandcamp ♪ YouTube

[phantasmodea]

game shows touch our lives / never quite free / maybe sprout wings / jd on never quite free / romans 10:9 / isaiah 45:23 / jd on romans 10:9 / jd on old college try / proverbs 6:27

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

To The Church in Philadelphia

7 "To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: "These are the words of the Holy One, the True One, he who has the key of David, he who opens and no one can shut, and who shuts and no one opens:

8 "I know your works. Look, I have set before you an open door, which no one can shut. For you have a little power, and have kept my word, and did not deny my name. 9 Look, I give of the synagogue of Satan, of those who say they are Jews, and they are not, but lie; look, I will make them to come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. 10 Because you kept my command to endure, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, which is to come on the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. 11 I am coming quickly. Hold firmly that which you have, so that no one takes your crown. 12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will go out from there no more. I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God, and my own new name. 13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. — Revelation 3:7-13 | New Heart English Bible (NHEB) The New Heart English Bible is in the public domain Cross References: 1 Kings 7:21; Job 12:14; Psalm 46:4; Isaiah 22:22; Isaiah 43:4; Isaiah 45:14; Isaiah 49:23; Isaiah 62:2; Matthew 11:15; Matthew 13:9; Matthew 16:19; Matthew 24:14; Mark 4:23; Luke 8:8; John 17:6; Acts 14:27; 1 Corinthians 9:25; 2 Timothy 2:12; Revelation 1:3; Revelation 2:2; Revelation 2:10; Revelation 2:13

Read full chapter

Notes: Jesus's letter to Philadelphia was written to a struggling church. They were struggling with the persecution they faced, yet they remained faithful. Jesus reassures them of their safety in him and that they will be saved in the judgment that is coming upon the world. Suffering purifies our faith and roots us in Christ.

[garden-of-thoughts-fruit-of-lips]

The witness is very true!

A Revelation from the Revealer of secrets

Repent the kingdom of the heavens have drawn near.

Prophecy = 42 months, 1,260 days, that is 3 in a half times

----------------‐‐-------------------------------------------

Deuteronomy 13: 1-4

In case a prophet or one who foretells by dreams arises in your midst and gives you a sign or a portent, and the sign or the portent about which he spoke to you comes true while he is saying, ‘Let us walk after other gods,’ gods that you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ you must not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer, for Jehovah your God is testing you to know whether you love Jehovah your God with all your heart and all your soul. After Jehovah your God you should walk, him you should fear, his commandments you should keep, to his voice you should listen; he is the one you should serve, and to him you should hold fast.

Daniel 8: 23-25

And in the final part of their kingdom, as the transgressors act to a completion, a fierce-looking king who understands ambiguous sayings will stand up. His power will become great, but not through his own power. He will bring ruin in an extraordinary way, and he will be successful and act effectively. He will bring mighty ones to ruin, also the people made up of the holy ones.  And by his cunning he will use deception to succeed; and in his heart he will exalt himself; and during a time of security he will bring many to ruin. He will even stand up against the Prince of princes, but he will be broken without human hand

Daniel 11:45

And he will plant his royal tents between the grand sea and the holy mountain of Decoration; and he will come all the way to his end, and there will be no helper for him.

Revelation 17:17

For God put it into their hearts to carry out his thought, yes, to carry out their one thought by giving their kingdom to the wild beast, until the words of God will have been accomplished

*********************************************

1 Peter 1:10

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the undeserved kindness meant for you made a diligent inquiry and a careful search.

Matthew 15: 10,11

With that he called the crowd near and said to them: “Listen and get the sense of it: It is not what enters into a man’s mouth that defiles him, but it is what comes out of his mouth that defiles him.”

Revelation 13:5-7

It was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and it was given authority to act for 42 months. And it opened its mouth in blasphemies against God to blaspheme his name and his dwelling place, even those residing in heaven. It was permitted to wage war with the holy ones and conquer them, and it was given authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation.

The wild beast has opened its mouth and spoken. How do we know because God Word shines light on it.

James 1:19

Know this, my beloved brothers: Everyone must be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger

*********************************************

2 Peter 1:21

For prophecy was at no time brought by man’s will, but men spoke from God as they were moved by holy spirit.

Isaiah 14: 13,14

You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to the heavens. Above the stars of God I will lift up my throne, And I will sit down on the mountain of meeting, In the remotest parts of the north. I will go up above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself resemble the Most High.’

God said, "Let it be luminaries in the expanse of the heavens." These luminaries will serve as signs for days and years. (Genesis 1:14)

Biblically, they used a lunar calendar, which is based on the cycles of the moon. 🌙 According to the biblical calendar, a year consists of 360 days. 📅

Going off the lunar calendar, 1,260 days is equivalent to 42 months. That's exactly 3 in a half times

Why is this number of months/days important because this is how long the holy city is being trampled on underfoot, 42 months. (Revelation 11:2)

Which is also the same amount of months the wild beast opened his mouth and spoke for. (Revelation 13:5,6). Giving breath/life to the image (Revelation 13:15)

The moon is being mentioned as being beneath the feet of the woman in Rev 12:1.

Therefore, since the nations trampled the holycity underfoot for 42 months. (Revelation 11:2) This refers to the moon. Since the moon is beneath her feet. (Revelation 12:1)

Ironically, walking on the moon was a big milestone, and all the earth followed with admiration (Revelation 13:3). The moon is "underfoot."

Neil Armstrong, "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."

When did this image of the moon start to speak?

Opening of the mouth = the launch of the Apollo 11 mission, which aimed to be the first humans on the moon.

Closing of the mouth = the last moon mission Apollo 17. It was the final mission of the Apollo program, and it marked the last time humans been to the moon to this day

July 16, 1969 December 19, 1972

Keep in mind the Lunar Calendar 📅 360 days a year.

A common year has 365 days. So, for most years, if your birthday was on a Friday, the following year, it will walk forward to be on a Saturday. Because of this walk back a day each year

1972 - 1969 = 3 years

December 19 walk back a day each yr = December 16

(Do not count the leap year 02/29/1972)

July 16, 1969 to December 16, 1972

If counted by the days = 1,260 days

If counted by the month = 42 months

If counted by the year = 3 in a half

Green dot = Apollo 11 (first humans on the moon)

Blue dot = Apollo 17 (last time humans been to the moon)

Red dot = leap year (do not count this day since it adds an extra day)

-----------------------------------

Revelation 12:1

...and the moon was beneath her feet...

* 1,260 days

Revelation 12:6

...prepared by God and where they would feed her for 1,260 days

Revelation 11: 3,4

I will cause my two witnesses to prophesy for 1,260 days dressed in sackcloth.” These are symbolized by the two olive trees and the two lampstands and are standing before the Lord of the earth

[malaisequotes]

“I won’t get better, but someday I’ll be free, ‘cause I am not this body that imprisons me.”

Isaiah 45:23 by The Mountain Goats

[thegnosticsphere]

Defining Hell:

Generally, Hell is considered as the place where the sinful are sent at the end of their worldly life to be punished. Yet, we are presented with our next issue of what this punishment actually is, who it is applicable to and what it represents in the nature of the Universe.

Drawing from previous notes, we might find an inclusion of the contemporary misinterpretation of the Problem of Evil (better framed as the Problem of Providence) where the presence of Hell indicates a wrathful nature to the Divine. The rhetoric falls short, however, when we establish that Epicurus was referring to the capacity, and willingness, of the deities to actively intercede in the affairs of the world. So, the problem cannot be fully applied here.

Hell as Creation

Our next issue is the placement of Hell. We can, for example, look at descriptions of the Devil (various names apply but let us just imagine an archetypal adversary) falling to an established area. This implies that Hell already existed, but if man was created later - then why would the presence of Hell even be necessary?

The assumption is then that Hell is not separate from Gd, as noted in Isaiah 45:7 where Gd defines his omnipotence as being non-dual. We can then apply the concept of 'Degree', and define Hell as:

An area that is distant from Gd yet still present in His Creation (it is thus a very distant or dual form)

An area that represents a capacity of Gd made manifest (here, Gd as purifier).

The first places an interesting emphasis on Psalm 6:5 where Sheol (the Judaic Abode of the Dead, a realm rather than a grave proper) is a place where the Lord is not definitively remembered. This abode of the Dead but we find an especial note in Isaiah 5:24:

"Therefore Sheol has enlarged its throat and opened its mouth without measure; and Jerusalem's splendour, her multitude, her din of revelry and the jubilant within her, descend into it."

We see a small pattern which somewhat aligns with the Gnostic Hymn of the Pearl:

"VII: But from some occasion or other, They learned I was not of their country. With their wiles, they made my acquaintance; yea, they gave me their victuals to eat. I forgot that I was a King's Son, and became a slave to their king. I forgot all concerning the Pearl, for which my Parents had sent me; And from the weight of their victuals, I sank down into a deep sleep."

So, assuming that Sheol was rather a place of darkness and forgetfulness, we don't really have a major basis for the contemporary concept of Hell as a fiery pit though that would've further been established in the New Testament.

My personal understanding of it is that it was a matter of translation. The Septuagint for example translates Sheol into either Hades or Tartaros. Shawna Dolansky (n.d) describes this:

"The word Sheol appears sixty-five times in the Hebrew Bible. Since it often seems to connote an underworld (Gen 42:38; Prov 9:18) or the depths of the earth (Deut 32:22; Amos 9:2), it is tempting to conflate it with later postexilic ideas about hell as a place of punishment, such as those that appear in the New Testament (e.g., Matt 11:23 // Luke 10:15; Luke 16:23; Rev 20:15). This conflation begins as early as the Septuagint (LXX) in which “Sheol” is translated from the Hebrew into Greek as “Hades.”

Hell as Death

It is common to hear about the idea of a 'second death' which implies two major things:

The material death is not the end, thus implying a spiritual point after death that allows for the concept of a second death.

If the body dies, then it is rather the soul that dies or succumbs to some form of 'spiritual death'.

This concept, however, becomes problematic when we view the Harrowing of Hell which implies that the Realm of the Dead had spirits within it - and they had existed for a long time before the Death and Descent of Christ. This then describes a sort of spiritual immortality that allows for this to occur.

So, how does a "Second Death" actually apply?

We might actually view the concept of a Second Death in view of Revelations where the 'Death' is a rejection of Doctrine. Again, drawing from the Hymn of the Pearl, this identification with worldliness involves an immediate association with its laws. The Denial of Gd is then to reject the spiritual concept of immortality and to then 'die' or be forever trapped within the Realm of the Dead. Likewise, we find the presence of the Last Rites which include:

The Act of Contrition The Sacrament of Confession The Apostle's Creed or the Testament of Faith The Anointing The Viaticum The Final Prayers

Of particular interest is the Sacrament of Confession and the Act of Contrition which both require an acknowledgement of Gd's mercy. This recognition prior to Death is not only an act of Memento Mortis but also a way of asserting a belief in the Faith - thus declaring something akin to: "Though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear no evil for you are with me."

Hell as an Abode (II)

In 'A Treatise on the Soul' by Tertullian, an apologist, we find an interesting concept:

(Side Rant: we also find mentions of pederasty which then put Leviticus into question but anyway)

"With the same law of His (Christ's) being, He fully complied, by remaining in Hades in the form and condition of a dead man; nor did He ascend into the heights of Heaven before descending into the lower parts of the Earth, that He might there make the Patriarchs and prophets partakers of himself"

Likewise, Tertullian goes on to mention the idea of Hell, or rather Hades, as an abode for the dead:

Well, then, what difference is there between Heathens and Christians, if the same person awaits them all when dead?

So, we are then brought to a few key issues:

Hell as Hades/Sheol or the Resting Place of the Dead

Hell as an area of Punishment and Purification (Thus possibly tying to the Graeco-Roman understanding viewed through Tartaros - i.e. a culture interprets a new theology through its own Lens. So Sheol became represented by the Greek Hades and Tartaros, then later as a concept of Hell - something something - the Romans did it.)

Hell as a Degree relating to the Presence of the Divine or Lack Thereof.

Hell as a State of Being

My mother believed that Earth was Hell, or the Catholic Concept of Hell. This was due to her understanding that the soul cannot feel pain or suffering, but we do and so we must be present in an area with the emotions are present. So, to her, she believed that Hell was more a state of being rather than anything else.

I, myself, carry this belief with the understanding that Sin is not so much an action or set of actions as it is a state of separation from a defined 'Spiritual Purity'.

Understanding this, and in line with the understanding that Hell is not different nor separate from Gd (as seen in the Book of John), Hell then represents a state in which the aspirant is separated from Divine Mercy. We find this alluded to in the Seven Spirits of Wrath within the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, in which seven forces act in the Material so as to obstruct the Soul's union with the Divine, these are:

Darkness Desire Ignorance Zeal for Death The Kingdom of the Flsh The Foolish Fleshly Wisdom Angry Man's Wisdom

But if such a state exists, then a secondary or preferred state must also exist?

We then find the whole field of philosophy dedicated to the Soul and what defines redemption? For example, choice-based Soteriology in which it is the conscious belief in the Divine, namely Jesus or Gd, that redeems the Soul. Considered further are the Five Articles of Remonstrance of which one reflects this choice-based Soteriology:

"That agreeably thereunto, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World, died for all men and for every man, so that he has obtained for them all, by his death on the cross, redemption and the forgiveness of Sins; yet that no one actually enjoys this forgiveness of sins except for the believed, according to the word of the Gospel of John 3:166 "For Gd so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

So the concept of choice-based redemption is present, and this is noted in the description of Tertullian, but we find our next issue in Predestination. It is easy to believe in free-will, but it comes into conflict with Predestination as seen in the Scriptures. We are thus brought to confront two primary issues:

The Presence of a Hell (as Abode of the Dead) implies an order in which there is already a determined end for all things.

The Forgiveness of Sins has the further implication of antinomian thought which is found in a few cult-like sects of Christianity.

We find in Jake Stratton-Kent's "The Tesament of Cyprian the Mage" (2014)

"In the more 'old school' form of Apokatastasis or Restitutionism as it relates to magic, these, while impermanent, do not vanish in a puff of theology. Purgatory, particularly, is a most useful concept in expressing both European and African derived traditions concerning the dead. Likewise Hell, although not a place of perpetual torment but of purgation, retains significance in a schema involving certain spirit entities."

The Presence of Hell, and arguably Purgatory, thus reflect less the nature of wrath and more the nature of purification. It is roughly akin to the Theurgic Practices in which a person, through invocation, prayer and other similar rituals, obtains a mind closer to the Divine. Conversely, rejection (and the subsequent state of purification) is alluded to in Eliphas Levi's description of Origen:

"Origen's opinion concerning the devils, is: The Spirits who act of their own free will, left the service of Gd with their Prince, the Devil; if they began to repent a little, are clothed with humane flesh; that further by this repentance, after the Resurrection, by the same means the which they came int the flesh, they might at the last return to the vision of Gd, being then also freed from etheriiall and aeriall bodies..."

Conclusion

It is therefore of interest to dismantle the concept of Hell as seen in contemporary form - less of an area of punishment but of three main features:

The Full Abode of the Dead

The Realm of Purification (associated with the Chthonic or Terrestrial Plane)

A Reflection of Grace.

On the very last, assuming from Origen and so too the Cult of the Martyrs, the presence of Hell is indicative of the natural state of purification. A force that goes down is inevitably met with resistance -- and this force can be best assumed as such concepts as the HGA, the Guardian Angel, or the Good Daimon.

We find in the Divine Pymander:

"And such an one never ceaseth (sin), having unfulfilled desires, and unsatisfiable concupiscences, and always fighting in darkness; for the Demon always afflicts and tormenteth him continually and increaseth the fire upon him more and more."

We can then also support the idea of Hell as a state - in which the soul undergoes its lamentations and mourning (and the aforesaid fighting in the darkness through the mind) and is separated from Gd. Yet, nothing is ever truly separate since all that is, is because of that Original Mover. Thus the presence of one indicates the presence of the other - Hell is of Heaven and Heaven of Hell.

If one reaches the bottom of a ladder and seeks to move, there is no other way than upwards on that same ladder. Likewise, if the Evil Daimon represents Gd's grace as the Thelemic 'Momentum of the Universe" working against the person, thus causing restriction. Likewise, the Holy Genius represents that capacity of Gd's grace so as to guide the aspirant in line with that same momentum. Whereas one seeks to stop by way of evidence (i.e. the review that this path causes suffering and distance), the other shows the correct path (and thus Hell is Harrowed, that is that the person is removed from the State of Hell, represented by Separation, and moved onto the path of Redemption.

[walkswithmyfather]

(Read Genesis 39:1-23)

“God Is Present Even in Dark Times” by In Touch Ministries:

“The Lord is not absent during our times of trouble. His purpose is steadfast.”

“The story of Joseph illustrates how God’s sovereign hand guides His children when they go through a season of darkness. Joseph was rejected by his brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused, and imprisoned. But in the midst of those terrible times, he experienced God’s favor.

Joseph didn’t comprehend the Lord’s intentions during those long years of slavery and imprisonment. After becoming second-in-command to Pharaoh, however, he recognized God’s purpose in allowing those lengthy struggles. Then Joseph testified to what he knew to be true: His brothers had meant to harm him, but God used all the hardship to accomplish a wonderful divine plan (Genesis 45:4-8; Genesis 50:20).

This is a helpful story to remember when troubles hit. In dark times, we’re often tempted to feel neglected by God and may even become angry with Him for letting the situation persist so long. Though we, like Joseph, may have difficulty seeing beyond our present suffering, there is a bigger picture.

If you’re living in a season of hardship, have faith that God is using it for His glory and your eternal good. All your protests cannot thwart His purpose (Isaiah 14:27), so yield to His hand as He shapes you into His Son’s image. And remember that whether it’s apparent or not, our Father’s favor is with you.”

[Photo by Dave Hoefler at Unsplash]