THIS WILL NOT CONSUME YOU.

TEXT:

"And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed." (Exodus 3 verse 2, King James Version).

When it comes to afflictions, trials, infirmities and tribulations, the child of God is not moved by them because according to Apostle Paul, we "know that we are appointed thereunto" (1st Thessalonians 3 verse 3). Again, for Christ's sake we take pleasure in them (2nd Corinthians 12 verse 10); and we endure them because we know that our eventual deliverance is embedded therein (2nd Thessalonians 1 verse 4, 2nd Timothy 3 verse 11).

     Indeed, trials, temptations and tribulations are "a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that (we) may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which (we) also suffer:" (2nd Thessalonians 1 verse 5, emphasis added). The Christian exhortation is that we are never to give up on account of tribulations but to "continue in the faith, (knowing) that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." (Acts 14 verse 22).

     Brethren, this is the Christian attitude and what is expected of us in the face of troubles, persecutions and trials. The question is, why do Christians not get agitated or moved by tribulations and trials?

      First, the Bible says that "Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all." (Psalms 34 verse 19). Yes, there's an assurance of total and complete deliverance for you in what you are currently going through. Know for sure that it will not consume you, in Jesus name.

      Second, we know that we are not left alone in the trials, tribulations and infirmities that we go through in life. God is ever with us in our troubles. The Bible says in Isaiah 63 verse 9 that "In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them:"

     The secret to the Christian resilience in the face of trials is found in the fact of God's presence with us in our troubles. In the Scripture reading for today, "the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed." The reason is that God was in the bush that the fire was burning. God's presence in the bush explains why the fire burned the bush, but the bush wasn’t consumed.

   In the same vein, we see this spectacle repeated in Daniel 3 verses 24 to 28. There, the fourth Person that was in the midst of the fiery furnace was like the Son of God. Because He was in it with the three Hebrew boys, they weren’t hurt.

      Today, we have the Lord with us in the Person of the Holy Spirit. He abides with us forever (John 14 verse 16). As long as the Lord was in the boat with His disciples, the storm couldn't sink it, though it had been sent by the enemy to sink it (Luke 8 verses 23 to 24).

     I prophesy that your current trouble will not sink you, will not consume you, in Jesus name. As there was calm after the Lord had rebuked the storm, may you experience calm in your current storms of life, in Jesus name.

PRAYER:

Lord, because You are with me in my troubles, I cannot be consumed by them, in Jesus name.